DATE  DUE 

UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  MASSACHUSETTS 
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SPRINGFIELD 


1636-1886 


HISTORY   OF   TOWN    AND    CITY 


INCLUDING 


An  Account  of  the  Quarter-Millennial  Celebration 

At  Springfield,  Mass.,  May  25  and  26,  1886 
Bv    MASON   A.   GREEN 


Issued  by  the  Authority  and  Direction  of  the  City  «)F  Springfield 


C.    A.    NICHOLS    &   CO.,  Publishers 

MDCCCLXXXVm 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF 
MASSACHUSEnS 

AMHERST,  MASS. 


Co f^y right,  iSSS 
Bv  CHAS.  A.  MCirOLS    X-   CO. 


PRESS      OF 

^lorktofll  antJ   Clnirchill 

BOSTON 


Two  years  ago  to-day  all  Springfield  celebrated  the  two 
hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  first  town-meeting. 
The  committee  of  fifty,  charged  with  the  details  of  the  festivi- 
ties, who  had  assigned  to  the  writer  the  task  of  preparing  the 
forinal  record  of  the  event,  also  requested  him  to  "  collect  facts 
as  to  the  early  history  of  Springfield,  and  the  genealogy  of  the 
families  of  the  first  settlers,  which  shall,  with  the  address,  and 
speeches  at  the  banquet,  be  published  in  book  form."  For  some 
months  this  plan  was  pursued,  but  it  was  found  that  one  vol- 
ume would  not  meet  the  demands,  if  the  usual  plan  of  a  local 
history  were  followed.  Springfield  is  not  a  town.  It  has  been 
an  important  and  indeed  controlling  factor  in  the  development 
of  Western  Massachusetts.  There  never  has  been  a  continuous 
narrative  of  the  town  and  city.  Several  chapters  in  its  career 
have  never  been  investigated  by  au}^  writer.  To  cover  these 
breaks  and  give  the  history  of  the  people  of  Springfield,  and  at 
the  same  time  leave  space  for  genealogies  and  the  anniversary 
speeches,  would  be  impracticable  in  one  volume,  and  would 
require  several  years'  research.  The  historian  has,  therefore, 
taken  the  liberty,  after  conferring  Avith  the  publication  com- 
mittee, to  depart  from  his  instructions,  and  to  leave  the  prep- 
aration of  the  genealogies,  the  drafts  of  streets,  and  the 
complete  lists  of  office-holders,  and  much  tabular  data  to  some 
future  Avriter.     In  all  probability  the  three  hundredth  anniver- 


PREFACE. 


sary  will  be  observed  with  patriotic  enthusiasm.  If  the  his- 
torian of  that  occasion  will  supply  these  features  and  carry 
the  narrative  down  the  extra  fifty  years,  he  will  have  material 
enough  to  make  a  second  volume,  which,  with  the  corrections 
that  may  be  needed  in  this,  will  furnish  our  people  with  a 
history  more  elaborate  than  that  of  any  city  or  town  in  the 
Commonwealth. 

There  is,  indeed,  much  in  these  pages  of  a  genealogical  and 
biographical  nature,  and  many  old  landmarks  are  identified ; 
but  this  material  is  only  used  as  incidental  to  the  story.  It  is 
the  history  of  the  people  that  is  here  told.  A  list  of  the 
men  who  have  aided  the  writer  during  the  past  two  years 
would  be  too  long  to  give  here.  But  special  acknowledgment 
should  be  made  to  Dr.  Thomas  R.  Pynchon,  of  Hartford,  for 
his  many  services  in  collecting  facts.  Maj.  Edward  Ingersoll, 
James  E.  Russell,  Robert  O.  jNIorris,  Judge  William  S.  Shurt- 
leff,  James  Wells,  Dr.  William  Rice,  James  Kirkham,  Dr.  F.  E. 
Oliver,  of  Boston,  and  scores  of  others  have  given  their  services 
in  recalling  the  past  and  furnishing  records ;  and  Judge  Henry 
Morris,  before  his  illness,  gave  the  use  of  his  historical  library 
and  manuscripts  at  all  times.  The  names  of  the  soldiers  of 
the  civil  Avar  and  the  lists  of  dead,  wounded,  and  missing  were 
furnished  by  James  L.  Bowen.  The  index  was  prepared  by 
Dr.  William  Rice. 

The  publication  committee  appointed  by  the  committee  of 
fifty  were :  Edward  H.  Lathrop,  chairman ;  Judge  William  S. 
Shurtleff,  Lewis  J.  Powers,  James  D.  Gill,  and  Milton  Bradley. 
This  committee  placed  the  whole  matter  of  publishing  the 
history  into  the  hands  of  C.  A.  Nichols,  of  this  city,  who,  it 
will  be  seen.,  has  spared  neither  time  nor  money  in  this 
service. 


PREFACE. 


It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  note  that  the  local  patriotism  which 
the  jNIay  celebration  stimulated  has  not  died  down  since  then. 
During  the  past  tAvo  years  more  money  has  been  given  for 
public  improvements,  more  attention  paid  to  the  appearance  of 
parks  and  thoroughfares,  and  more  concern  taken  in  the  organ- 
izations that  supplement  the  work  of  good  government  here 
than  for  many  years  before  the  celebration.  Thus  the  quarter- 
millennial,  which  was  a  tribute  to  the  past,  was  a  pledge  also 
for  the  future  in  all  things  that  improve  and  better  our  City  of 
Homes.  This  is  our  Springfield,  — first,  a  stake  in  the  wilder- 
ness, then  a  town,  then  the  mother  of  towns,  then  a  city,  and, 
with  the  continuing  favor  of  Providence,  the  mother  of  cities. 

MASON  A.  GREEN. 

Springfield,  Mav  25,  1888. 


The  Springfield  Church,  England. 


INTRODUCTION. 


When  King  Charles  had  dissolved  his  third  Parliament  with  the 
avowed  purpose  of  ruling  without  it,  and  had  made  the  ritualistic 
Laud  Bishop  of  Loudon,  thus  at  once  putting  his  heel  upon  the 
statute  lil^erties  of  England  and  the  bleeding  heart  of  Puritanism, 
there  lived  in  an  Essexshire  hamlet  a  warden  of  the  established 
church.  He  was  thirty-nine  years  of  age,  of  gentle  birth,  acute,  res- 
tive, and  singularly  self-assertive.  He  had  seen  some  of  the  stoutest 
men  of  the  realm  break  into  tears  when  the  king  had  cut  off  free  speech 
in  the  Commons  ;  he  had  seen  ritualism,  like  an  iron  collar,  clasped 
upon  the  neck  of  the  Church,  while  a  young  jewelled  courtier,  the 
Duke  of  Buckingham,  dangled  the  reputation  of  sober  England  at 
his  waistcoat.  A  colonial  enterprise,  pushed  by  some  Lincolnshire 
gentlemen,  had   been    noised    abroad,  and   the    warden   joined   his 


INTRODUCTION. 


fortunes  with  them,  and  so  became  one  of  the  original  incorporators 
mentioned  in  the  royal  charter  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Company 
in  America.  This  was  William  Pynchon,  of  Springfield,  Essex, 
England. 

The  P3^nchons  seem  to  have  had  a  sturdy  qualit}^  that  grows  in  the 
fastnesses  of  Wales,  nor  were  they  strangers  to  the  graces  of  the  gentry 
and  the  pride  of  family.  Sir  William  Dugdale  in  his  "Baronage" 
says  that  Endo,  "with  one  Pinco  his  sworn  brother  in  war,"  came 
to  England  with  William  at  the  time  of  the  Norman  Conquest,  and 
they  received,  among  other  returns,  for  their  services,  the  hamlet  of 
Thorpet  in  Kirby,  Lincolnshire,  —  "  Endo  to  hold  his  proportion  im- 
mediately of  the  king,  and  Pinco  his  of  St.  Cuthbert  of  Durham." 
In  1167  Hugh,  the  son  of  "  Pinco  or  Pincheun,"  w^as  returned  by  the 
Bishop  of  Durham  as  "  holding  of  him"  seven  knights'  fees  in  Lincoln 
shire.  A  reference  in  the  records  of  that  da}^  to  "Hugh  fils  Pinch- 
onis  "  furnishes  us  the  earliest  close  approach  to  the  spelling  of  the 
name  as  we  have  it.  Walter  de  Beke  married  the  daughter  of  "  Hugh 
Fitz  Pincheun,"  who  held  the  lands  in  Lincolnshire  for  some  ^^ears. 

We  learn  from  the  History  of  the  town  of  Horton,  in  Yorkshire, 
that  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Chichele,  Northamptonshire,  married  a 
William  Pynchon,  who  is  spoken  of  as  the  ancestor  of  the  Essex 
Pynchons.  This  Chichele  was  a  relative  of  Sir  Robert  Chichele, 
Lord  ]\Iayor  of  London  in  1411.  The-Horton  historian  speaks  of  the 
first  William  Pynchon  as  an  "opulent  butcher,"  from  whom  "de- 
scended a  line  of  important  personages  whose  issue  gave  off  Baronets 
and  Squires  of  high  degree."  Coming  down  somewhat  later,  it  is 
known  that  Nicholas  Pynchon,  who  became  High  Sheriff  of  Lon- 
don in  1533,  went  from  Wales  to  Sussex  in  the  early  part  of  the 
sixteenth  centur}^  and  bought  an  estate  in  the  ancient  cathedral  town 
of  Chichester.  He  removed  to  Essexshire  in  1520,  where  his  son, 
John,  married  Jane  Empson,  the  daughter  of  Sir  Richard  Empson, 
one  of  the  ministers  of  King  Henry  VII.  who  lost  their  heads  for 
unprofessional  conduct.  John's  son,  William,  died  at  Writtle  in  1592  ; 


INTRODUCTION. 


and  his  son,  in  turn,  was  the  AYilliam  Pynchon,  of  Springfield,  Essex- 
shire,  England,  who  became  the  founder  of  Springtield,  Massachu- 
setts, United  States  of  America. 

The  coat  of  arms  of  the  Pynchon  family  was  :  "  Per  bend  argent 
and  sable,  three  roundles  within  a  bordure  engrailed,  counter- 
changed."  Although  William  Pynchon  was  a  man  of  broad  and 
aggressive  thought,  he  was  remarkably  complex  in  character.  He 
loved  both  money  and  adventure  ;  he  also  loved  the  gospel  in  its 
purity  ;  he  hated  political  corruption,  and,  at  the  same  time,  he  dis- 
trusted that  phase  of  Puritanism  which  drifted  away  from  royalty. 
AVhat  was  the  real  motive  that  led  him  to  leave  the  quiet  walks  of  his 
Essexshire  estate  and  to  sail  for  the  New  World  we  will  leave  others 
to  conjecture  after  reading  his  history. 

After  Charles  Stuart  had  risen  from  his  bed,  where  he  had  fallen  in 
unkingly  tears  on  hearing  of  the  assassination  of  Buckingham,  he 
resolved  to  continue  the  fight  for  the  divine  right  of  kings  by  adopting 
two  equally  memorable  policies.  The  ver}^  month  in  which  the  king 
dissolved  the  Parliament  which  had  bolted  its  door  against  the  royal 
messenger,  he  signed  the  famous  Massachusetts  Bay  charter.  No 
one  can  tell  who  was  more  relieved  at  the  signing  of  the  charter,  — 
King  or  Puritan.  The  eagerness  of  his  Majesty  to  be  well  rid  of  his 
Puritan  subjects  explains  the  liberal  terms  upon  which  the  Massa- 
chusetts wilderness  was  set  over  to  P^ndicott,  Cradock,  Pynchon,  and 
their  associates.  The}^  and  their  heirs  and  assigns  forever  received 
from  the  king  in  the  territor}^  of  Massachusetts  Bay  "  all  landes  and 
groundes,  place  and  places,  soyles,  woodes  and  wood  groundes, 
havens,  portes,  rivers,  waters,  mynes,  mineralls,  jurisdiceones, 
rights,  royalties,  liberties,  freedomes,  immunities,  priviledges,  fran- 
chises, preheminences,  hereditament,  and  commodities  whatsoever," 
to  be  held  "in  free  and  comon  Socage  and  not  in  Capite  nor  by 
knight  service."  The  main  consideration  was  a  payment  of  one-fifth 
part  of  the  gold  and  silver  ore  "  which  from  tyme  to  tyme  and  at  all 
tymes  hereafter,  shalbe  there    gotten,  had  or  obteyned  for  all  ser- 


INTRODUCTION. 


vices,  exaccors,  aad  demandes  whatsoever."  It  was  granted  that 
the  officers  should  be  chosen  out  of  the  freemen  of  the  company  ;  that 
it  should  be  "  one  bodie  politique  and  corporate,"  with  right  forever 
to  appoint  its  own  officers,  including  a  General  Court  having  judicial 
and  legislative  functions  granted  for  all  time.  The  only  check  upon 
the  action  of  the  court  was  the  provision  that  no  law  should  be  con- 
trary to  the  statute  laws  of  England ;  but  the  governor  not  being  a 
royal  appointee  (after  the  provisional  one  named  in  the  charter),  and 
the  laws  not  being  submitted  for  roj'al  sanction,  the  act  of  incorpo- 
ration served  as  a  practical  warrant  of  local  autonomy. 

Every  person  joining  the  corporation  was  required  to  take  the 
freeman's  oath,  swearing  "  by  the  greate  &  dreadful  name  of  the 
everlyving  God"  to  "  mainetaine  &  preserve  all  the  libertyes  & 
privileges  "  of  the  colou}^ ;  nor  did  the  colon}-  in  turn  doubt  its  right 
to  exclude  freemen  who  developed  heretical  opinions.  John  and 
Samuel  Brown,  who  had  got  into  trouble  by  using  the  "  Book  of 
Comon  Prayer,"  were  summarily  sent  back  to  England  from  Salem, 
and  it  was  arranged  that  the  dispute  should  be  put  out  to  arbitration. 
The  Browns  nominated  Mr.  Pynchon,  among  others,  to  this  board, 
and  in  the  end,  it  is  believed,  they  were  paid  a  small  sum  for  their 
financial  losses  in  America. 

It  little  concerns  us  here  to  follow  the  transfer  of  the  charter 
from  England  to  Massachusetts  Bay  in  the  early  spring  of  1630, 
except  to  note  that  Mr.  Pynchon's  importance  in  this  enterprise  is 
evident  from  the  first.  He  was  not  only  an  incorporator,  but  was 
named  by  the  king  a  provisional  assistant  pending  the  regular  or- 
ganization under  the  charter.  He  was  present  at  the  meeting  in 
England  in  May,  1629,  when  he  paid  his  "adventure  money"  to 
Harwood,  the  treasurer,  and  in  October  of  that  year  he  was  placed 
on  the  committee  to  carry  out  the  vote  of  the  company  to  transfer 
the  historic  charter  to  America.  The  fleet  of  four  vessels  which 
sailed  in  April,  1630,  bearing  the  charter  with  the  seal  of  England 
attached  thereto  by  strings  of  braided  silk,  also  bore  Mr.  Pynchon 


INTRODUCTION. 


and  his  feeble  wife  with  four  childreu,  Ann,  Mary  (afterward  Mrs. 
Holj^oke),  John,  and  Margaret  (afterward  Mrs.  Davis).  The  new- 
comers generally  took  their  families  with  them.  If  the  king  gave 
all,  the  departing  Puritans  accepted  all,  and  risked  all.  Pynchon 
seems  to  have  left  a  son  in  England,  who  subsequently  went  to  the 
Barbadoes.  Mr.  P3mchon  and  his  family  were  aboard  the  "Jewell," 
owned  by  Mr.  Newell,  one  of  the  patentees.  They  reached  Salem 
in  the  New  World  on  the  loth  of  June,  1630,  having  been  thirty- 
seven  da^^s  on  the  voyage  from  the  Isle  of  Wight.  ]Mr.  P^mchon  first 
settled  at  Dorchester.  His  wife  died  at  Charlestown  soon  after  her 
arrival.  Not  being  satisfied  with  the  outlook,  Mr.  Pynchon  started 
a  new  plantation  upon  the  rocks  of  Boston  Neck.  It  was  "  Eocks- 
bury "  indeed.  He  aided  in  establishing  a  church  there,  and  was 
also  active  in  public  affairs.  He  attended  the  first  General  Court  at 
Charlestown,  and  was  made  treasurer  of  the  colony.  Curiously 
enough  the  court  fined  Pynchon  and  two  other  assistants  "  a  noble 
apiece  "  for  being  tardy.  He  was  compelled  to  cross  the  river,  and 
probably  had  an  excuse  for  being  late. 

It  is  quite  likely  that  Mr.  Pynchon  made  plans  at  once  for  an  ex- 
tensive beaver  trade,  and  some  little  commerce  by  sea.  The  General 
Court  authorized  him  at  one  time  to  receive  from  England  certain 
goods  sent  by  Dr.  Wilson  as  a  gift  to  the  plantation,  which  naturally 
implies  Avharfage  facilities.  Certainly  the  Pynchons,  in  later  years, 
owned  a  wharf  at  Boston.  Mr.  P^^nchon  secured  a  license  to  trade 
in  beaver  skins  with  the  Indians,  and  in  1635  £5  of  the  £25  fee  was 
remitted.  The  trade  was  disappointing  ;  nor  was  the  outlook  en- 
couraging for  the  town  of  Roxbury.  One  John  Pratt  probably  ex- 
pressed the  feelings  of  many  when  he  wrote  back  to  England 
lamenting  the  barrenness  of  the  soil.  When  the  Bay  authorities 
heard  of  it,  Pratt  was  forced  to  make  a  public  retraction,  giving  the 
climate  and  soil  a  certificate  of  good  character.  Mr.  Pynchon  had 
been  one  of  the  court  chosen  to  examine  and  accept  Pratt's  retrac- 
tion,   and  one  can  fancy  the   shrewd  face  of  this   "  gentleman  of 


INTR  on  UCTION. 


learuiug  aud  religion  "  relax  as  he  signed  his  name  to  the  acceptance 
of  the  retraction  in  which  Pratt  said,  nnder  the  counter  pressures  of 
truth  and  necessity :  "As  for  the  barrenes  of  the  sandy  grounds  I 
spake  of  them  then  as  I  conceaved ;  but  nowe,  by  experience  of 
myne  owne,  I  finde  that  such  ground  as  before  I  accounted  barren, 
yet,  being  manured  &  husbanded,  doeth  bring  forth  more  fruit  than 
I  did  expect." 

The  poor  condition  of  the  so-called  soil  at  Roxbury,  from  which 
even  proper  husbandry  could  not,  under  the  circumstances,  bring 
encouragement  to  the  tiller,  led  to  a  dispute  about  taxes  levied  upon 
the  several  towns  by  the  General  Court,  and  indeed,  in  1635,  Mr. 
Pynchon  actually  refused  to  pay  his  part  of  the  assessment,  as  he 
"  alleaged  that  towne  was  not  equally  rated  with  others."  For  this 
resistance  he  was  fined  £5.  The  most  curious  instance  of  discipline 
connected  with  Mr.  Pynchon's  name  at  the  Bay  rose  out  of  the 
beaver  trade.  The  laws  as  to  giving  fire-arms  to  the  Indians  were 
naturally  strict ;  but  the  Indians  being  good  hunters,  the  temptation 
to  lend  them  arms  for  a  day  or  wxek,  with  perhaps  an  Englishman 
to  accompany  them,  was  great  indeed.  ]Mr.  P^mchon  and  ]Mr. 
Mayhew,  in  the  spring  of  1634,  applied  to  the  Court  of  Assistants  for 
a  special  permit  to  employ  Indian  hunters,  which  was  granted  ;  but 
on  May  14  the  General  Court  expressed  its  disapproval  in  this  stiff 
manner  :  "  It  is  agreed  that  there  shal  be  X£  fine  sett  upon  y^  Court 
of  Assistants  &  Mr.  ]Mayhew,  for  breach  of  an  order  of  Court  against 
employeing  Indeans  to  slioote  with  peeces,  the  one  halfe  to  be  payde 
l)y  ]\Ir.  Pynchon  &  Mr.  Mayhew,  offending  therein,  the  other  halfe 
by  the  Court  of  Assistants  then  in  being,  whoegave  leave  thereunto." 

A  theological  cloud  was  gathering  over  the  Boston  and  Salem 
churches.  The  Ann  Hutchinson  and  Roger  Williams  schism  was 
destined  soon  to  distract  the  colony,,  and  Mr.  Pynchon  could  not  but 
have  seen  the  advantage  of  a  still  deeper  taste  of  the  wilderness. 
His  resolve  to  settle  in  the  Connecticut  Valley  marks  the  beginning 
of  the  history  of  Springfield. 


CHAPTER   I.  —  (1G35-1G37.) 

The  Roxbury  Settlers.  —  Causes  of  their  Migration  to  the  Connecticut  Valley.  — 
The  Probable  Route  from  Roxbury  to  Springfield.  —  The  "  Old  Connecticut 
Path,"  and  the  "  Old  Bay  Path."—  The  First  House.  —The  Dress  of  the 
Springfield  Pioneers,  —  Buying  Indian  Lands.  —  The  First  Owners  of-House 
Lots.  —  The  Pequot  War. — William  Pynchon  a  Trader. — Rev.  George 
]Moxon.  —  The  Town  Meeting  and  the  English  Vestry  Meeting.  —  Owner- 
ship of  Lands  in  Common. 

CHAPTER   II.  -  (1638-1639.) 

William  Pynchon  and  the  Indian.  —  Capt.  Mason,  of  Connecticut. — Pynchon 
and  Mason  contrasted.  —  Origin,  of  the  Charges  against  Mr.  Pynchon. — 
Corn  Contracts  with  the  Indians  and  the  Connecticut.  — Capt.  Mason  visits 
Agawam  (Springfield).  —  Heated  Dispute  between  Mason  and  Pynchon.  — 
Mason's  Hasty  Return  to  Connecticut.  —  Mr.  Pynchon  summoned  to  Hart- 
ford, and  charged  with  speculating  in  Corn.  —  His  Trial  and  Conviction.  — 
Starving  Condition  of  the  Agawam  Inhabitants.  —  Capt.  Mason  author- 
ized to  trade  with  the  Massachusetts  Indians.  —  Mr.  William  Pynchon's 
"  Apology." 

CHAPTER    III.  —  (1638-1639.) 

The  Connecticut  Jurisdiction  over  Agawam.  —  The  Massachusetts  Boundary 
I^ine.  —  Rev.  Thomas  Hooker's  Spirited  Letter.  —  House  built  for  Mr. 
Moxon.  —  Allotments  of  Land.  —  Agawam's  Act  of  Secession.  —  Sundry 
Town  Laws.  —  Strangers  excluded.  — Wages  of  Laborers  regulated.  —  The 
ToAvn  Brook.  — Woodcock ^'s.  Cable.  —  Ancient  Lawsuits.  —  A  Jury  of  Six. 
—  Mr.  Moxon  in  Court. 


CHAPTER    IV.  —  (1640-1643.) 

Revival  of  the  Charges  against  William  Pynchon.  —His  Trial  before  the  Windsor 
Church.  —  Connecticut    claims    Woronoco     (Westfield).  —  Massachusetts 


CONTEXTS. 


protests.  —  The  Arrival  of  Elizur  Ilolyoke,  Samuel  Chapin,  and  Others. — 
Goody  Gregory  fined  for  Profanity. — Fire  Ladders. — -John  Hobell  and 
]Miss  Burt  ordered  to  be  flogged.  —  Second  Division  of  Planting-Grounds. 

—  Marriage  of  ]Mary  Pynchon. 

CHAPTER   v.  — (1644-l(>4o.) 

The  First  Board  of  Selectmen.  —  Centralization.  —  Mr.  Moxon's  Ministry.  —  The 
First  Meeting-House.  — A  Long  Sermon.  — A  Tax-List.  — Fencing  House- 
Lots. —  The  "  Longe  MeddoAve."  —  Refusal  to  make  Fences. — Planting- 
Grounds  on  the  AYest  Side.  —  Social  Caste.  —  Marriages  of  Hugh  Parsons 
and  of  John  Pynchon. 

CHAPTER   VL  —  (1645-1650.) 

Connecticut  imposes  a  River  Tariff.  —  Purchase  of  Saybrook  Fort.  —  William 
Pynchon  refuses  to  pay  the  Duty.  —  The  Commissioners  of  the  United  Col- 
onies sustain  Connecticut.  —  Springfield's  Case  in  Detail.  —  Massachusetts 
imposes  Retaliatory  Duties.  —^Connecticut  removes  the  River  Duties  on 
Springfield  Goods.  — Floods  and  Local  Incidents.  — Taxes.  — Miles  Morgan. 

—  The  Freeman's  Oath. — Trouble  as  to  Swine.  —  Town  Orders.- — Pyn- 
chon's  Court. 

CHAPTER  VII.  —  (1648-1652.) 

Witchcraft.  —  Mysterious  Lights  seen  at  Night.  —  Mrs.  Bedortha.  —  Hugh  Par- 
sons's  Threat. — Mrs.  Parsons  condemned  for  Slander. — Mary  Parsons 
bewitched.  —  Parsons  arrested.  —  Mrs.  Parsons  accuses  herself  of  Child- 
Murder.  —  Taken  to  Boston.  —  Mrs.  Parsons  sentenced  to  be  hanged.  — 
Death  before  the  Day  of  Execution.  — Pecowsic.  — John  Pynchon's  Growing 
Importance.  —  Church  Expenses.  —  William  Pynchon's  Heretical  Book  con- 
demned by  the  General  Court.  —  Mr.  Norton's  Reply.  —  The  Doctrine  of 
the  Atonement. — The  Protest  of  Sir  Henry  Vane  and  the  Reply  of  the 
General  Court.  — Pynchon,  Moxon,  and  Smith  return  to  England. 

CHAPTER   VIII.  -  (1653-1675.) 

Springfield  in  the  Hands  of  Young  Men.  —  The  Discipline  more  rigid.  —  Appor- 
tionments of  Land.  —  Power  of  the  Selectmen.  —  Quabaug.  —  The  Vacant 
Pulpit.  —  Various  Candidates.  —  Rev.  Mr.  Glover  settled.  —  How  the  Meet- 
ing-House was  "  dignified." — Hampshire  County.  —  Business  of  the  County 
Courts. — Numerous  Offences  against  Private  Morals. — The  Cause. — ■ 
Tything-Men.  —  Death  of  Mary  Holyoke.  —  Death  of  William  Pynchon  in 
England.  —  The  Pvnchon  Fort  on  Main  Street. 

CHAPTER   IX. —  (1674-1676.) 

The  Indian  Situation.  —  Puritan  View  of  the  Savage.  —  The  Agawams.  —  Eng- 
lish   Laws    for   the    Natives.  —  Indian   Mortgage    Deeds.  —  An   Appeal   to 


CONTENTS. 


Boston. — The  Origin  of  Slavery  in  New  England. — Perfecting  Title  to 
the  Land.  — King  Philip's  War.  — The  Attack  upon  Brookfield.  —  Lieuten- 
ant Cooper  sent  forward  from  Springfield. — Beers,  Lathrop,  Mosely,  and 
Treat  march  to  the  Rescue  of  the  Connecticut  Valley  Towns.  —  The  Swamp 
Fight.  —  Death  of  Beers.  —  Bloody  Brook.  —  Pynchon>  Protest  to  the 
Commissioners. — The  Indian  Fort  at  Springfield. — The  Town  burned  by 
King  Philip.  —  Pynchon's  Hasty  Ride  from  Hadley.  —  Death  of  Cooper  and 
Miller.  —  Captain  Appleton  in  Command.  — Trouble  about  Military  Author- 
ity.—  Winter. — ^J)eath  of  Elizur  Holyoke  and  Selectman  Keep. — The 
Fight  at  Turner's  Falls.  —  Heroism  of  Samuel  Holyoke.  — JKing  Philip's 
Death. 


CHAPTER   X.  —  (1677-1703.) 

Waste  Places  rebuilt. — Deacon  Chapin. — Chicopee. — Fishing  Privileges. — 
The  Second  Meeting-House.  — Troubje  about  Mr.    Glover's  House  and  Lot. 

—  Schools. — Taxes. — Law    Breakers,  —  The    Freemen     of     1678.  —  The 
,^ilA£cord  Tree."  —  King  William's  AVar. — Pynchon's    Attempts  to  protect 

the  To\\-nsT" —  Sir  Edmund  Andros  in  Springfield.  —  Massacre  at  Brookfield. 

—  Captain  Colton"s  Heroism.  —  Pynchon's  Letter  to  Stoughton.  —  Death  of 
Mr.  Glover.  —  Suflield.  —  Enfield.  —  The  Boundary  Question.  —  Brimfield. 

—  West  Springfield.  —  Its  Struggle  for  a  Separate  IMinister.  —  Pynchon's 
Place  in  the  Commonwealth.  —  His  Business  Connections.  —  Beaver  Trade 
with  England. —  Pynchon's  Death. 

CHAPTER   XI. —  (1703-1735.) 

Queen  Anne's  War.  —  The  West  Side  Meeting-House.  — Longmeadow.  — Rev. 
Stephen  Williams. — The  Commons.  —  Visit  of  Judge  Sewall.  —  Mr. 
Brewer's  Salary.  —  Parish  Matters.  —  Mr.  Brewer's  Death.  —  The  State  of 
Society.  —  The  Half-Way  Covenant.  —  A  Decline  in  Morals.  —  Full  List  of 
Tax-payers.  —  The  Church  Membership.  —  Freemanship.  —  Condition  of 
the  Churches.  —  Call  of  Rev.  Robert  Breck.  —  Charges  of  Heresy.  —  Breck's 
Repl^'-j^JClje  First  Parish  divided  into  Breck  and  Anti-Breck  Factions.  — 
Meeting  of  the  Hampshire  County  Association  of  Ministers  at  Springfield.  — 
An  Exciting  Session. 

CHAPTER   XII. —  (1735-1761.) 

The  Breck  Controversy  continued.  —  Jonathan  Edwards^s  Position.  —  The  Ordi- 

'"nnaTTon  Council  meets  at  Springfield.  —  Br'eck's  Confession  of  Faith.  —  His 

Arrest  and  Acquittal.  —  An  Appeal  to  the  General  Court.  —  Breck  finally 

settled  over  the  First  Church.  —  Whitefield.  —  Great  Revivals.  —  Changes  in 

Church  Rules.  —  Increased  Church-Membership.  —  Springfield  Mountains. 

—  Chicopee.  —  The  Third  Meeting-House.  —  Schools.  —  Loss  of  Life  at 
Louisburg.  —  T>B—H-Qbbs_  Fight.  — Crown  Point. — Agawam. — Death  of 
Col.  William  Pynchon  and  of  Dea.  Henry  Burt. 


CONTEXTS. 


CHAPTER    XIII.  —  (1761-1783.) 

Col.  John  AVortliington. — Josiah  Dwight.  — Benjamin  Day. — Prominent  Doc- 
tors. —  The  Small-pox.  — -JFTnrioj^ng-  pf  Sb^^xx^  —  The  Wait  Monument.  — 
Parish  Matters.  — Jedediah  Bliss.  —  Springfield  Mountains.  —  Stony  Hill. — 
West  Springfield  attempts  to  rule  the  ToAvn.  —  Is  set  off  as  a  Separate 
Town.  —  John  Worthington's  Tory  Sentiment.  —  Other  Springfield  Tories. 

—  Town  Officers  for  1775.  — Lexington. —  Springfield  Minute-Men.-—  Letter 
from_a_Springfield  Soldier.  —  Revolutionary  Soldiers  from  Springfield.  — 
Moses  Bliss.  —  The  Pynchon  Family  again.  —  Town  Acts  and  Resolves.  — 
The  March  to  Ticonderoga.  —  More  Revolutionary  Soldiers.  —  The  State 
Constitution.  — John  Worthington  in  Growing  Favor.  —  Financial  Distress. 

—  Depreciation  of  Currency.  —  An  Inter-State  Convention  at  Springfield. — 
Fluctuations  in  Values.  —  Warrants  of  Distress. 


CHAPTER    XIV.  —  (1783-1787.) 

The  Debtor_J^ln.ss  in  MassRchnsetts.  —  Rev.  Samuel  Ely.  —  Springfield  Jail 
Broken  open.  —  A  Mob  at  Northampton.  —  Hatfield  Convention.  —  Commo- 
tion in  other  States.  —  Views  of  Washington  and  other  Americans  on  the 
Situation.  — Unsuccessful  Attempt  to  prevent  the  holding  of  the  Courts  in 
Springfield.  —  Town  Officers.  —  Warrants  of  Distress.  —  Prominent  Money- 
Lenders.  —  The  Town-Meeting  on  the  Situation.  —  Daniel  Shays.  —  The 
Court  Calendar  loaded  with  Suits  against  Debtors.  —  Courts  interfered 
with  at  Northampton.  — The  Elections  of  1786.  — Trouble  at  Worcester.  — • 
Mobs  at  Northampton.  —  Extra  Session  of  the  Legislature.  —  Shays  makes 
a  Demonstration  at  Springfield.  —  The  Town-Meeting  again.  —  General  Lin- 
coln. —  Lincoln's  March  to  the  Connecticut  V.^lley.  —  General  Shepard's 
Defence  of  the  Springfield  Armory.  —  Shays  defeated.  —  The  Towns  send 
in  Petitions  praying  for  Peace  and  Pardon.  —  The  Triumph  of  Law. 

CHAPTER   XV.  —  (1783-1800.) 

Death  of  Rev.  Robert  Breck.  —  Pompey.  —  The  Change  in  Dress.  —  Carriages. 

—  Postmaster  Moses  Church.  —  Death  of  Charles  Brewer.  —  Zebina  Steb- 
bins.  —  Capt.  Luke  Bliss.  —  The  Dwights.  —  Merchant  Jt)nathan  Dwight. 

—  The  Old  Red  Store.  — Other  Merchants.  — A  Glimpse  at  Main  Street.  — • 
Zenas  Parsons.  —  Taverns.  —  Maj.  Joseph  Stebbins.  — Early  NeAvsiMpers. 

—  Post  Riders.  —  Samuel  Lyman.  —  Springfield's  College  Presidents.  — 
The  Hitchcocks. —  Col.  Thomas  Dwight.  —  Daniel  Lombard.  —  Town  Offi- 
cers. —  Fourth  of  July  Celebration.  —  Timber  Trade.  —  More  Warrants 
of  Distress.  —  Town  Treasurer's  Report.  —  Canals.  —  Deserting  Soldiers 
and  Lawlessness. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   XVI.  —  (1800-1821.) 

The  United  States  Armory.  —  David  Ames.  —  Roswell  Lee.  —  "  Toddy  Lane." 

—  The  Dwight  Store  again.  —  Other  Buildings  of  Interest.  —  Incorporation 
of  Hampden  County.  —  Fight  over  the  Offices.  —  The  Embargo  Troubles. 

—  The  Hartford  Convention.  —  The  Character  of  George  Bliss,  First.  — 
Town  Acts.  —  William  Ely.  —  Town  Officers  for  1808.  —  Bridges  over  the 
Connecticut.  —  Visit  of  President  Monroe.  —  Population.  —  The  Spring- 
field Bank.  —  Springfield  Fraternities.  —  The  Old  Academy.  —  Samuel 
Osgood.  —  Baptists  and  Methodists.  —  Rev.  W.  B.  O.  Peabody.  —  New 
Congregational  Meeting-House  and  Court-House. 

CHAPTER   XVII.  —  (1821-1831.)    pA      ^'^^ 

The  "Federal  Spy  "and  "  HampsMxe  Federalist."  —  Samuel  Bowles,  the  First. 
New  Blood  in  the  Village.  —  The  Characters  of  William  B.  Calhoun,  John 
Mills,   Oliver   B.    Morris,    and  George    Bliss,   Jr.  —  Philanthropy.   —   The 
Colonization  Society.  —  Population.  —  Fourth  of  July  Celebration.  —  Polit- . 
ical  Banquets.  — [River  Traffic.  —  River  Steamers.  —  Stages.  —  Factories.  ' 

—  Postmaster  Lombard.  —  Politics.  —  The  Poor-House.  —  Selectmen  from 
1822  to  182G.  — ■  Destruction  of  the  Pynchon  Fort.  —  Temperance  Society. 

—  Jackson's  Triumph. — Masonry. — Chapman  &  Ashmun.  —  Military  Com- 
panies. —  Ancient  Trees.  —  Fire  Department.  —  Lawlessness.  —  Death  of 
Jonathan  D^vight.  —  Commerce  on  the  River. 

CHAPTER   XVIIL—  (1831-1841.) 

I  The  Era  of  Railroad  Building.  —  Canal  and  Railroad  Advocates.  /—  The  Old 
Western  Road.  V-  A  M.tss  Meeting  at  Springfield.  —  Hartford's  Rival 
Scheme.  —  Stock  Subscriptions.  —  Seeking  State  Aid.  —  Democratic  Party 
Opposition.  —  River  Boats.  —  Chicopee  and  Cabotville.  —  School  Districts.  -^ 

—  Activity  in  Real  Estate.  — A  Washington's  Birthday  Celebration.  — Visit 
of  Henry  Clay.  —  William  B.  Calhoun.  —  Temperance.  —  Elliot-Buckland 
Murder  Trial.  —  Revolutionary  Pensioners.  —  George  Bliss  in  Politics.  — 
Springfield's  Bi-centennial.  —  Fourth  of  July  at  Factory  Village.  —  George 
Bancroft  in  Local  Politics.  —  The  Fifteen-Gallon  LaAv.  —  Marcus  Morton. 

—  A  Harrison  Demonstration.  —  Slavery.  —  Dr.  Osgood.  —  Springfield 
Statistics.  —  NeAvspapers.  — Dr.  Joshua  Frost.  —  Churches.  —  The  Fire 
Department.  —  Military  Companies. 

CHAPTER   XIX.  —  (1841-1852.) 

Maj.  Edward  Ingersoll.  —  Colonel  Ripley.  —  Military  Superintendents.  —  Pro- 
test of  the  Armorers.  —  Charles  Stearns.  —  Col.  Roswell  Lee.  —  The 
"  Stearns  Riot."  —  Long  Litigations.  —  Politics.  —  Ashmun's  Defence   of 


CONTENTS. 


AVebster.  —  Liquor  Licenses.  —  Arrival  of  John  Quincy  Adams's  Body.  — 
Ashmun's  Public  Career.  — The  Thompson  Riots.  — Eliphalet  Trask's  Posi- 
tion. —  Erasmus  D.  Beach.  —  John  Mills  again.  —  Chapman  as  a  Statute- 
Maker.  -I  Railroads. )—  Visit  of  Charles  Dickens.  —  More  River  Steam- 
boats. —  The  Fire  of  1844."~'—  Real-Estate  Changes.  —  Proposal  for  a  City 
Charter.  —  Deaths  of  X.  P.  Ames,  David  Ames,  and  Dr.  Peabody.  — 
Newspapers.  —  Churches.  —  Removal  of  the  Old  Cemetery.  —  Jenny  Lind. 

—  Xew  Business  Enterprises.  —  ^Militia.  —  The  New  City. 

CHAPTER   XX.  —  (1852-18G0.) 

The  Xew  City.  —  Ansel  Phelps,  Jr.  —  Xew  Buildings  unon  Main  Street.  —  The 
Growth  of  Holyoke.  — Labor  Troubles.  — The  Boston  &  Albany  Railroad. — 
Kossuth.  —  Philos  B.  Tyler.  — Retirement  of  Dr.  Osgood.  — Gen.  Wliitney. 

—  Know-Xothingism.  —  Mayor  Trask.  —  Dedication  of  the  City  Hall.  —  The 
Fremont  Campaign.  —  The  City  Library.  —  The  Home  Exliibition  of  1853. 

—  Death  of  Daniel  Lombard.  —  Panic  of  1857. — Failure  of  the  Western 
Bank.  —  George  Bliss  and  Benjamin  Butler. — Politics. — Dr.  Chaffee. — 
Free-Soil  Excitement.  —John  Brown.  —  The  Club.  —  The  Dred  Scott  De- 
cision and  Springfield.  —  More  Politics.  — John  Brown's  Letter  to  Chapman. 

CHAPTER   XXI.  —  (1860-1886.) 

The  War  and  Politics.  —  Springfield  in  the  Chicago  Convention. — Lincoln's 
Letter  to  George  Aslimun.  —  City  Politics. — Union  Rallies. — Activity  in 
Real  Estate.  — Various  Enlistments.  —  A  Record  of  Springfield  Soldiers  who 
died  in  Battle  and  in  Hospital.  —  Fires. — Newspapers. — The  Death  of 
Samuel  Bowles.  —  His  Character  as  a  Journalist.  —  Theology  at  Indian 
Orchard.  • —  Rev.  James  F.  Merriam. 

CHAPTER   XXII.  —  (May  25,   1886.) 

Preparing  to  Celebrate  the  Two  Hundred  and  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the  Found- 
ing of  the  Town.  —  The  Citizens'  Committee.  —  Service  of  Praise  at  the 
First  Church.  —  The  Loan  Exhibition.  —  Tuesday's  Ceremonies.  —  Band 
Concert. — Judge  Henry  Morris's  Address. — Judge  William  S.  Shurtleff's 
Ode. — The  Banquet  at  the  Massasoit  Hotel. — Interesting  After-dinner 
Speeches.  — Letters  of  Regret.  — A  Brilliant  and  Remarkable  Occasion. 

CHAPTER   XXIII. —  (May  26,  1886.) 

The  Second  Day  of  the  Celebration.  —  The  Children's  Concert.  —  The  Proces- 
sion. —  Distinguished  Guests.  — Historical  Representations, —  The  Veterans 
in  Line.  — The  Trades.  — The  Grand  Ball  at  the  City  Hall,  which  closed  the 
Ceremonies  of  the  Great  Celebration  of  Mav  25-26,  1886. 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


The    Springfield    Church,    Exolaxd    .         .         .         • 

The    Koxbury   Emigrants  

Old    Indian    Deed  .......•• 

Pynchon    opposing    Captain    Mason's    Demands 

The    Indian    Corn   Fleet        ....... 

Old    Dutch    Map    of    Connecticut    River    .... 

Pynchon's    Book   burned    on    Boston    Common  . 
Fac-simile    Title-page    Pynchon's    Book     .... 

The   Pynchon    Tablet    at    Writtle,    England    . 

Interior    of    Church    avhere    William    Pynchon    is    buried 

The    Old    Pynchon    "Fort"    or   Residence 

Indians    from    the    Stockade  prepare    to  burn   Springfield, 

Major   John   Pynchon's   Ride        ...... 

Pynchon    Coat    of    Arms         ....... 

Cradle    of   Pynchon    Family  ...... 

The    Reading    of    Mr.    Breck's    Confession    of   Faith 

Parsons    Tavern,    1776   . 

Defending    Court-House    against    Shays's    Insurgents     . 

Warming-Pan    and   Foot-Stove 

The    Dwight    Brick    Store,    as    it    appeared    about    1860 
Map    of    Armory    Hill,    about    1810     ..... 

The    Old    Toll-Bridge  ........ 

The    Old    Town-House,    State    Street         .... 


1675. 


PAGE 

vii 
7 

13 
27 
37 
40 
lU 
117 
121 
U5 
146 
163 
167 
206 
238 
249 
285 
318 
330 
339 
355 
372 
377 


LIST    OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


The   Bliss    Residence 

Burning   U.S.    Armory,     182-t         .... 

Archway   to    the    Springfield    Cemetery   . 

The    Old  Elm    on   Elm    Street    .... 

Express   Train   on   Western  Railroad 

Advertisement    of   Hampden    Coffee-House 

The    Old   Hampden    Coffee-House 

Revolutionary   Pensioners    at    the    Court-House, 

Map    of    Springfield,    1836 

Depot    and    Old    Railroad   Bridge 

The    Corner   Bookstore 

City   Hall   Tower  and   Church    Spires 
John   Broavn   organizing   a   Secret   Lodge   among 
The    Wait    Monument    and   Rockingham    House 
Entrance    to    U.S.    Armory  ..... 

The   Old   County   Jail 

"Agawam"  Eerry-Boat 

Old   Ely   Tavern    and   Blake    Homestead,    Dwight 

Parsons    Tavern   as    it    appeared    in    1886 

West    Entrance    to    Old  Toll-Bridge 

The    Procession.    May   26      .....         , 


1832 


Negroes 


Street 


1851 


619,  623, 


PAGE 

385 

892 

403 

405 

416 

424 

425 

429 

438 

479 

485 

492 

505 

508 

517 

521 

525 

531 

541 

545 

626 


STEEL    ENCxRAVINGS. 
William    Pynchon, 


Jonathan    Dwight. 
Rev.    B.    Howard. 
Rev.    S.    Osgood. 
Oliver    B.    Morris. 
Edward    Pynchon. 
George    Ashmun. 


George   Bliss. 
Solomon   Warrener. 
Judge   R.    A.    Chapman. 
Chester   W.    Chapin. 
Dr.    David    P.    Smith. 
Samuel    Bowles. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886 


655    —     1657. 


The  Roxbuiy  Settlers.  —  Causes  of  their  Migration  to  the  Connecticut  Valley.  — 
The  Probable  Route  from  Roxbuiy  to  Springfield.  —  The  "  Old  Connecticut  Path" 
and  the  "Old  Bay  Path."  —  The  First  House.  —  The  Dress  of  the  Springfield 
Pioneers.  —  Buying  Indian  Lands.  —  Tlie  First  Owners  of  House-lots.  —  The 
Pequot  War.  —  William  Pynchon  a  Trader.  —  Rev.  George  Moxon.  —  The  Town 
Meeting  and  the  English  Vestry  Meeting.  —  Ownership  of  Lands  in  Common. 


In  these  simple  chronicles  of  Spriugtield  there  is  uo  occasion  to 
give  in  detail  the  causes  that  led  AYilliam  Pynchon  and  his  associates 
to  leave  Roxbury,  and  to  settle  in  the  Connecticut  valley.  The 
prospect  of  better  trade  in  the  west  was  no  doul)t  one  motive,  and 
the  exacting  conditions  of  government,  also,  nnist  have  influenced 
them.  The  tendency  at  Boston  to  limit  the  qualitications  of  freemen, 
and  to  expand  the  prerogatives  of  those  in  authority,  had  alread}^ 
appeared.  The  setting  up  of  the  '•  standing  council  for  term  of  life  " 
had  given  rise  to  serious  misgivings  in  the  minds  of  many. 

The  Bay  authorities  looked  with  no  little  concern  upon  the  first 
proposals  to  people  the  C  onnecticut  valley.  The}^  had  dismissed,  with 
some  show  of  impatience,  Plymouth's  proposition  even  to  join  in 
a  western  trading  expedition  ;  nor  had  the  adventurous  John  Oldham 
endeared  himself  to  the  people  at  the  Bay,  who  frowned  upon  his 
"  vast  conceipts  of  extraordinary  gaine."  But  it  is  quite  possible 
that  Mr.   Pynchon  oave  Oldham  substantial   encourao-ement  in   his 


SPRINGFIELD,   1636-1886. 


work  of  exploring  the  Conuecticut  valley.  When  Oldham's  estate 
was  settled  it  was  found  that  he  owed  Mr.  Pynchon  £22  19.s'.  9rZ. 

It  has  been  usually  taken  for  granted  that  William  Pynchon  pros- 
pected in  this  valley  in  1635.  It  must  have  been  a  hasty  trip,  how- 
ever, as  he  was  at  Boston  in  March,  April,  May,  June,  July,  August, 
and  Novem])er  of  that  year.  He  did  not  attend  the  September 
court,  however.  The  first  house  on  the  banks  of  the  Agawam  river, 
which  empties  into  the  Connecticut  just  below  Springfield,  was  built 
in  1635,  the  workmen  arriving  iu  time  for  the  spring  planting.  If 
Mr.  Pynchon  himself  went  thus  early  he  anticipated  the  action  of  the 
General  Court,  which  did  not  pass  the  vote  authorizing  the  forming 
of  a  new  plantation  until  May. 

The  route  taken  by  the  early  prospectors  and  settlers  of  Spring- 
field rests  under  quite  as  deep  a  cloud  of  doubt  as  the  dates  them- 
selves. There  is  an  old  romance,  written  by  a  native  of  Springfield, 
entitled  "  Letoula  ;  or,  a  legend  of  Springfield;  founded  on  Fact." 
It  contains  the  following  passage  :  — 

At  the  close  of  a  summer  evening  in  1035.  as  the  sun  was  sinking  in  the  far 
west  and  casting  its  last  brilliant  beams  through  a  hedge  of  willows  which 
bordered  the  sparkling  waters  of  the  lovely  Connecticut,  a  birch  canoe,  shooting 
by  an  opening  in  tlie  willows,  approached  the  shore.  A  small  party  of  English- 
men disembarked,  and,  accompanied  by  a  guide,  ascended  the  hill.  They  were 
met  at  the  summit  l)y  a  sachem.  avIio  conducted  them  inside  the  palisadoes.  The 
next  morning  a  council  was  held,  and  the  strangers  made  known  the  object  of 
their  visit,  which  was  to  purchase  land  for  a  settlement. 

There  is  probably  as  much  truth  in  this  avowed  work  of  fiction  as 
in  some  of  the  professedly  historical  accounts.  A  house  was  already 
up,  and  crops  growing,  iu  the  summer  of  1635,  and  the  parley  with 
the  Indians  had,  of  course,  taken  place  before  that.  The  story  that 
the  Roxbury  part}^  led  by  AVilliam  Pynchon,  approached  the  Connect- 
icut valley  substantially  over  the  Boston  &  Albany  Railroad  route, 
may  safel}^  be  set  down  as  a  piece  of  visioning.     A  speaker  in  an 


SPRIXG  FIELD,    1636-1886. 


historical  address  has  receutly  assumed  that  the  Windsor,  Hartford, 
and  Wetherstield  parties  came  down  the  Chicopee  valley,  and  thence 
drifted  south.  Dr.  Holland  also  accepted  tradition,  and  used  it  in 
his  history,  as  well  as  for  his  purposes  of  fiction,  when  he  described 
the  approach  of  the  Springfield  pioneers  from  the  "  Old  Bay  Path." 
But  the  ''  Bay  Path  "  was  not  opened  until  1673,  nearly  forty  years 
later. 

The  Indian  situation  may  eulighten  us  somewhat  upon  this  sub- 
ject. The  English  explorers  of  that  early  day  found  that  the  site 
of  Woodstock,  Conn.,  was  in  a  rich  corn  region,  where  the  grain  was 
stored  in  Indian  "  barns,"  or  cellars  with  baked-clay  walls.  From 
Woodstock  ran  old  trails  in  every  direction.  It  was,  in  fact,  an 
Indian  trail  centre.  Governor  Winthrop  was  supplied  with  corn  in 
1630  by  Indians,  who  bore  it  in  skins  upon  their  backs  to  the  Bay. 
This  early  supply-traiu  proceeded  from  Woodstock  past  the  site  of 
Dudley,  Grafton,  Hopkinton,  South  Framingham,  Cochituate  pond 
(Framingham),  north  bank  of  Charles  river,  and  thence  to  Cam- 
bridge and  Boston.  Nor  did  these  Indians  even  then  break  through 
an  untrodden  forest.  They  took  the  trail  known  later  as  the  Old 
Connecticut  Path,  the  one  followed  by  John  Oldham  on  his  way  to 
the  site  of  Wethersfield  in  1633.  Hooker  and  Stone  took  this  route 
in  June,  1()36.  It  had  been  developed  from  an  Indian  trail  to  an 
English  bridle-path  for  horses  and  cattle.  No  one  ever  accused 
AYilliam  Pynchon  with  any  lack  of  business  qualities.  He  was  a 
practical  man  of  afi:airs.  It  is  absurd,  therefore,  to  suppose  that  he 
rejected  the  forest-trail  connections  of  the  country,  and  pushed  on 
with  his  little  company  of  men,  women,  and  children  through  a 
trackless  wilderness. 

We  have  spoken  of  Woodstock  as  a  trail  centre.  One  trail  ran 
from  thence  to  the  Narragansett  country  and  to  Norwich ;  another 
north-west,  through  Southbridge  to  8turbridg-e,  there  splitting,  —  one 
continuing  to  Springfield,  and  the  other  to  the  Falls  on  the  Connect- 
icut, at  Holyoke.     There  was  still  another  Indian   trail,  which  left 


y 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


the  Old  Connecticut  Path  at  Wesson,  and  ran  through  Sud])ury 
Centre,  Nashawa}-,  Princeton,  New  Braintree,  West  Brookfield, 
Warren,  Brimfield,  and  Springfield  ;  but,  from  Winthrop's  Journal,  it 
appears  that  the  English  did  not  know  of  it  till  164<S.  It  was  in 
1649  that  John  Eliot  wrote  :  "20  myles  up  the  river  layeth  Spring- 
feild  where  Mr.  Moxon  is  pastor.  And  this  towne  overland  from  the 
Bay  layeth  :  80  :  or  :  90  :  myles  South  West  and  is  the  roade  way  to 
all  the  towns  upon  this  river  and  lye  more  southward."  This  was 
true  in  1649,  but  not  in  1636. 

We  feel  free  to  conclude,  therefore,  that  Mr.  Pynchon  approached 
the  Connecticut  vallev,  on  his  preliminary  expedition  in  1635,  by 
the  Old  Connecticut  Path.  He  had  with  him  John  Cable,  John 
Woodstock,  and  an  Indian  interpreter.  With  an  eye  for  trade  he  at 
once  saw  that  he  would  not  be  content  to  settle  his  Roxbury  com- 
pany below  the  other  Connecticut  plantations,  and  he  determined  to 
prospect.  He  ascended  the  "  grate  ryver  "  until  he  came  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Woronoco  river  (Agawam),  where  he  found  Indians 
noted  for  their  beaver-hunting  propensities.  He  was  unaware  that 
he  had  pushed  far  enough  north  to  be  outside  the  Connecticut  juris- 
diction. He  struck  a  bargain  with  the  Agawam  Indians,  who  had  a 
fort  on  a  hill  overhanging  the  east  bank  of  the  river,  and  who  had 
extensive  planting-grounds  on  the  west  side  of  the  Connecticut,  south 
of  the  Woronoco  river.  Leaving  his  men  to  plant,  and  to  build  a 
house  about  half  a  mile  above  the  mouth  of  the  Woronoco  river  on 
the  south  side,  he  hastened  back  to  the  Bay.  A  Dorchester  party 
visited  the  Agawam  in  July,  but  returned  to  the  site  of  Windsor. 

Having  begun  to  tamper  with  tradition  as  to  these  ancient  matters, 
we  are  impelled  also  to  cast  a  doubt  over  the  usual  narrative  that 
Mr.  Pynchon's  company  encamped  on  the  present  site  of  Springfield 
upon  their  arrival  in  the  spring  of  1636.  The  Indians  had  told  them, 
so  the  story  goes,  that  the  house  in  the  Agawam  meadow  was 
exposed  to  floods  in  the  spring  and  autumn,  and  it  was  accord- 
ingly abandoned  the  year  it  was  built.     What  little  is  known  about 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-ISS6. 


this  house  points  just  to  the  other  conclusion,  —  that  it  was  not  only 
not  i)ullecl  down,  but  actually  sheltered  some  of  the  first  arrivals 
in  I60G.  The  truth  is,  that  when  the  English  put  in  an  appear- 
ance in  l(3o(^  with  their  families,  the  Indians  raised  on  the  price 
of  their  lands  along  the  Agawam,  and  it  was  not  the  danger  from 
floods  alone  that  induced  the  settlers  to  change  the  site  of  the  pro- 
posed town. 

In  a  memorandum  made  by  John  Holyoke,  over  forty  years  later, 
is  to  be  found  a  sentence  that  tends  to  clear  tliis  question  up,  and  to 
show  that  the  old  house  in  the  Agaw^am  meadow  was  standing  in 
1636.     Here  it  is:  — 

Memorandum"  :  Agaara  or  Agawam.  It  is  that  medow  on  the  south  of  Agawa'" 
River  where  y'^  English  did  first  build  a  house,  w''  now  Ave  comonly  cal  house 
medow,  that  peice  of  groiuid  it  is  w''  y^'  Indians  do  call  Agawam,  &  y'  y^'  English 
kept  y*^  residence,  who  first  came  to  settle  and  plant  at  Springfeild  now  so 
called :  &  at  y*-'  place  it  was  (as  is  supposed)  that  this  juirchase  was  made  of  the 
Indians. 

It  is  argued,  however,  that  the  word  '^  purchase  "  in  the  above 
document  means  the  original  verbal  bargain  struck  by  Pynchon  and 
the  Indians  in  160"),  and  not  the  actual  passing  of  the  deeds  in  Jul}', 
I606.  This  inference  would  compel  us  to  make  a  forced  construc- 
tion to  the  following  passage  in  the  compact  that  was  drawn  up  a 
few  days  after  the  arrival  of  the  Koxbur}^  pioneers,  in  May  of  that 
year : — 

10'>'.  That  Avheras  a  howse  was  built  at  a  comon  charge  which  cost  G£  and 
alsoe  the  Indians  demannd  a  greate  some  to  buye  theyr  right  in  the  s*^  lands,  and 
alsoe  a  greate  shallope,  Avhich  Avas  requisite  for  the  first  plantinge,  the  valew 
of  Avhich  engagements  is  to  be  borne  by  each  inhabitant  at  theyr  first  entrance, 
as  they  shall  be  rated  by  us  till  the  s'^  disbursements  shall  be  satisfyed,  or  else 
in  case  the  s'^  hoAvse  and  boat  be  not  soe  satisfyed  for,  then  soe  much  meddowe 
be  sett  out  about  the  s'^  howse  as  may  countervayle  the  sayd  extraordinary 
charge. 


6  SPRINGFIELD,   1636-1886. 


It  would  be  rather  a  difficult  thiug  to  set  apart  meadow  land  about 
a  house  that  had  been  pulled  down,  aud  we  can  safely  assert  that  the 
original  house  on  the  banks  of  the  Worouoco  river  had  not  been 
puUed  down  in  the  spring  of  163(3,  tradition  to  the  contrary  notwith- 
standing ;  and  it  is  equally  safe  to  infer  that  it  sheltered,  at  least, 
a  part  of  the  Roxbury  arrivals. 

The  year  1636  was  indeed  an  active  aud  trying  oue  for  Mr.  Pyn- 
chon.  Besides  his  duties  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Commis- 
sioners appointed  by  the  Massachusetts  Bay  General  Court,  to 
govern  for  one  year  the  plantations  that  might  be  started  iu  the 
valley  of  the  Connecticut,  Mr.  Pvnchon  had  to  take  full  charoe  of 
the  transportation  of  his  party,  and  their  household  goods  aud 
effects,  advancing  a  large  part  of  the  money  required  for  that  pur- 
pose. The  March  session  of  the  General  Court  was  full  of  excite- 
ment. The  nisecurity  felt  on  account  of  the  restless  Indians,  the 
reconstruction  of  the  courts,  the  establishment  of  quarter  sessions, 
the  special  religious  meetings  of  sundry  uneasy  spirits  in  some  of  the 
churches,  the  setting  up  of  a  standing  council  from  among  the  magis- 
trates with  life  terms,  and  finally  the  appointment  of  the  Connecticut 
commission  of  eight,  were  but  the  most  important  matters  considered 
at  that  time. 

Sixteen  hundred  thirty-six  may  be  called  the  exodus  year  to  the 
Connecticut  valley.  Parties  from  the  east  were  pushing  to  the  sites 
of  Hartford,  Windsor,  Springfield,  and  Wethersfield  all  that  spring 
and  summer ;  and  while  the  men  at  the  Bay  could  do  no  less  than  bid 
them  God-speed,  we  know  that  nothing  but  the  stoutest  ties  that  keep 
just  minds  to  their  moorings  prevented  an  open  rupture. 

Governor  Winthrop's  "Blessing  of  the  Bay"  sailed  from  Boston 
for  the  Connecticut  river  April  '2Q,  and  about  this  time  the  bodv 
of  the  Roxbury  pioneers  penetrated  the  Massachusetts  wilderness. 
A  reference  to  this  vessel  and  its  service  to  Pynchon  is  made 
in  a  subsequent  letter  to  John  Winthrop,  Jr.,  in  which  he 
writes  :  — 


The  Roxijlry  Emigrants. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


Pray  accept  my  Bill  of  excliang  to  you  by  Mr.  Peeters  for  63  li :  &  as  for  the 
freight  of  the  Blessing  formerly,  I  have  a  perf ett  account  of  it :  hut  I  have  not 
Avritt  with  Anthony  Dike  to  confer  my  notes  Avith  him,  &  as  for  the  freight  of 
the  Batcheller.  I  shall  make  up  the  tunag  with  Mr  Gose  at  Vf atertowne ;  for 
thither  I  have  conditioned  that  she  must  deliver  our  goods.  I  asked  Lieftenant 
Gibbins,  before  I  would  hier  her,  if  she  might  goe  as  far  as  Watertowne,  &  he 
confidently  affirmed  she  might,  &  that  there  is  water  enough ;  therefore  I  pray 
give  all  the  furtherance  von  can. 


Botli  the  '^  Blessing  '*  and  the  "  Batcheller*'  carried  goods  for  the 
Roxbury  party,  it  would  seem  from  this.  The  first  instalment  of  the 
Koxbury  band  accomplished  its  jonrne}"  between  April  26  and  ]May 
14,  when  the  first  recorded  meeting  took  place.  This  instalment  in- 
cluded at  least  a  dozen  families.  The  horse-litter  for  the  aged  or 
indisposed  was  the  only  vehicle  practicable  along  the  forest  bridle- 
patli  to  the  wild  west.  Cows  and  pigs  were  included  in  the  pioneer 
procession,  while  the  armed  outpost  would  lead  the  way  over  a  pine 
plain  or  down  a  forest  ravine,  in  order  to  clear  natural  obstructions 
or  prospect  for  savages.  While  the  colony  was  upon  the  verge  of 
a  terril>le  Indian  war,  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  Pynchou 
party  was  well  received  at  the  Indian  villages  which  they  passed. 
jNIr.  Pynchon  was  accompanied  doubtless  by  his  bride,  Frances 
Sanford,  "  a  grave  matron  of  the  church  at  Dorchester,"  wliom  he 
had  married  not  long  after  the  death  of  the  first  Mrs.  Pynchon. 

Puritanism  was  the  religion  of  honest,  unaffected,  and  stalwart 
simplicity,  which  expressed  itself  strikingly  in  dress  ;  but  the  plain 
garb  of  those  days  figures  in  our  nineteenth  century  eyes  as  pictu- 
resque in  the  extreme. 

There  is  a  natural  curiosity  as  to  the  costuming  of  the  pioneers, 
and  a  diligent  search  has  served  to  satisfy  this  curiosity  in  part.  Most 
of  the  troopers  and  young  men  wore  the  customar}-  jerkins  or  waist- 
coats of  green  cotton,  caught  at  the  waist  with  either  red  tape  or  a 
leather  band.  Over  tliis  some  Avould  wear  a  mandiliou,  or  sleeveless 
jacket,  held  at  the  neck  with  hooks  and  eyes,  and  lined  with  cotton. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1 686-1886.  9 


As  tlie  expedition  was  through  a  wilderness  during  a  possibly  rainy 
spring,  some  may  have  been  dressed  at  times  ni  the  uncomfortal)ly 
warm  doublet  and  hose  of  leather  Uned  with  oiled  skin,  m  which 
case  they  would  abandon  their  large,  conical  broadbrims  for  cooler, 
red,  knit  Puritan  caps.  The  half-boot  was  much  worn  then,  and  Mr. 
Pynchon  would  wear  great  boots,  —  a  luxury  limited  by  law  to  tliose 
whose  estate  was  at  least  £200.  The  broad,  white  collar  of  the 
period  would  not  be  demanded  upon  such  an  expedition.  The  women 
of  the  band  would  wear  strong,  simple  kersey  gowns,  with  hoods, 
caps,  high  necks,  and  neckcloths,  their  home-made  gowns  falling 
to  the  stout  boots  with  the  directness  of  a  decree  from  heaven. 
The  short  sleeves  and  bare  arms,  ;\nd  bunches  of  green  ribbon  (not, 
however,  required  on  such  a  journey),  had  been  forbidden  by  the 
authorities  ;  but  an  inspection  of  the  manuscript  and  printed  remains 
of  pioneer  life  in  New  England  shows  that  neither  the  ingenuity  of 
man,  nor  the  dangers  of  the  wild  beasts  or  wilder  men,  kept  the 
New  England  woman  from  reflecting  in  her  attire  something  of  the 
grace  and  taste  that  Heaven  sheds  upon  lier  sex  ;  and,  therefore, 
if  during  this  expedition  some  yeoman  did  not  discover  it  a  pleas- 
ure to  tramp  l)eside  his  horse  that  a  maid  might  be  the  better 
placed,  and  her  forest-decorated  gown  appear  to  better  advantage, 
then  Springfield  was  not  at  first  peopled  with  the  average  quality  of 
Puritans. 

It  profits  us  little  to  linger  over  a  chapter  of  history  which  is 
founded  upon  an  hypothesis  and  developed  upon  slender  threads  of 
inference,  but  one  cannot  l)ut  look  twice  at  the  possible  scenes  along 
this  route  to  the  Connecticut,  —  the  encampment  at  a  hamlet  of  wig- 
wams, the  fair-faced  matron  and  tlie  leather-dressed  squaw,  the  ex- 
pressions of  a  mutual  s[)irit  of  concord  and  curiosity  among  the 
soft-voiced  strangers  in  green  and  black  and  the  natives,  the 
psalm-singing  circle  about  the  camp-tire,  and  the  wondering  savages 
before  their  wigwams. 

Mr.  Pviichon  had  secured  an  interpreter  named  Ahaughton.  through 


10  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


whom  he  could  coinmiink'ate  with  the  Indians,  and,  so  far  as  is  known, 
the  great  journe^^  was  accomplished  without  accident,  at  least  without 
serious  dela3\ 

It  is  quite  possible  that  the  pioneers  turned  north-west  at  Wood- 
stock, and  followed  the  trail  to  the  site  of  Springfield  ;  but  as  this 
trail  was  not  a  bridle-path  for  the  admission  of  horses  and  cattle,  and 
as  their  goods  were  sent  on  boat  cia  Saybrook  and  Windsor  (for 
P3mchon  had  letters  to  the  church  at  Windsor) ,  even  this  supposi- 
tion is  to  be  doubted.  We  believe  that  the  pioneers  came  up  the 
river  to  the  Woronoco,  or  Agawam  river,  and  were  sheltered  in  the 
old,  original  house  on  the  Indian  meadows,  now  forming  a  part  of 
the  town  of  Agawam,  on  the  south  bank,  about  half  a  mile  from  the 
spot  where  it  empties  into  the  Connecticut. 

Before  the  Indian  deeds  were  secured  the  little  company  made 
a  formal  declaration  of  their  intention  to  establish  a  town.  They 
were  three  days  in  drawing  up  this  co^•enant,  or  town  constitution, 
as  it  may  be  called.  No  reference  to  any  colony  jurisdiction  occurs 
in  this  document.  They  were  theoretically  under  the  Massachusetts 
Ba}^  government,  but  really  formed  a  part  of  Connecticut.  They 
began  their  covenant  by  sa3nng  that  the\^  "doe  mutuall}^  agree  to 
certa^me  articles  and  orders  to  be  oljserved  and  kept  by  us  and 
by  our  successors,  except  wee  and  eveiy  of  us  for  ourselves  and 
in  oure  persons,  shall  therein  meet  uppon  better  reasons  to  alter 
our  present  resolutions,"  Tliey  declared  first  their  intention  to 
procure  a  minister.  The  town  was  to  be  limited  to  fifty  families  ; 
each  inhabitant,  that  is,  head  of  a  famih',  to  have  a  house-lot 
and  an  allotment  of  planting-grounds,  pasture,  meadow,  marsh, 
and  timber  land.  Taxes  were  to  be  levied  upon  land  only. 
William  Pynchou,  Jehu  Burr,  and  Heniy  Smith  were  given  forty 
acres  of  meadow-land,  south  of  the  "  End  Brook,"  to  be  exempt 
from  taxation  on  account  of  the  mone}^  paid  out  by  them  in  found- 
ing a  town.  No  man  l)ut  William  P3mchon  was  allowed  to  have 
ten  acres  in  his  house-lot.     The  men  signing  this  agreement  were, 


SPRINGFIELD,    16S6-18S6.  11 


William  Pyuclion,  31atthew  ^Mitchell,  Henry  Smith,  Jehu  Burr 
(his  mark),  William  Blake,  Edmuud  Wood,  Thomas  Ufford  (his 
mark),  and  John  Cable.  The  assignments  of  honse-lots  were  as 
follows  :  — 


William  Blake 

. 

IG 

poles 

in  width. 

Thomas  Woodford 

(north) 

12 

Thomas  Ufford 

14 

Henry  Smith   . 

. 

20 

Jehu  Burr 

. 

20 

William  Pynchon 

. 

oO 

John  Cable 

. 

11 

kC 

John  Reader    . 

. 

12 

c; 

MILL     KIVER. 

Matthew  ]Mitchell     \ 

Samuel  Butterlield    \        .          .         On  the  Connecticut. 

Ednumd  Wood  j 

Jonas  Wood     ....  South  of  Mill  River. 

Henry  Smith,  who  was  married  to  Mr.  Pynclion's  daughter  Ann, 
drew  up  the  agreement ;  and  he  seems  to  have  been  a  man  of 
great  character  and  reliability. 

Six  weeks  after  the  signing  of  this  agreement  Mr.  Pynchon  was 
at  Roxbury,  but  he  returned  in  time  to  meet  the  local  Indians 
and  to  receive  deeds  for  the  lands  previously  bargained  for.  If 
oui  conclusions  are  well  founded,  Mr.  Pynchon  and  his  associates 
met  the  Indian  owners  of  the  land  in  the  first  house  on  the  banks 
of  the  Agawam.  July  15,  1636.  Eleven  days  before,  Pynchon  had 
been  in  Roxbury.  Several  families  had  arrived  since  May,  and 
they  formed  the  second  instalment  which  Pynchon  led  to  the  val- 
ley. The  scene  in  and  about  the  little  house  excites  our  curiosity ; 
but  time  has  obliterated  all  Imt  the  results  of  the  meeting. 

Cummucke  and  ^latanchan,   ancient    Indians,   were  there,  and    a 


12  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-I8S6. 

young  warrior,  Cuttouas,  of  whom  we  will  hear  more  later,'  and 
others,  making  a  company  of  at  least  thirteen  Indians  who  put  their 
marks  upon  paper  for  the  first  time.  The  rights  of  the  squaws  to 
the  lands  were  duly  recognized,  but  they  were  not  allowed  to 
sign.     The  deed  is  here  transcribed :  — 

Agaam  alias  AgaAvam  :  This  lifteentli  day  of  July,   163G. 

It  is  agreed  between  Commucke  &  Matanchan  ancient  Indians  of  Agaam 
for  &  in  the  Name  of  al  the  other  Indians,  &  in  particular  for  &  in  y*^ 
Xame  of  Cuttonus  the  right  owner  of  Agaam  &  Qnana,  &  in  the  Name  of  his 
mother  Kewanusk  the  Tamasham  or  wife  of  AYenawis,  &  Niarum  the  wife  of 
Coa,  to  &  with  William  Pynchon  Henry  Smitli  &  Jehu  Burr  their  heires  & 
associates  for  ever,  to  truck  &  sel  al  tliat  ground  &  muckeosquittaj  or 
medow,  accomsick  viz  :  on  tlie  other  side  of  Quana ;  &  al  the  ground  &  muck- 
eosquittaj on  the  side  of  Agaam,  except  Cottinackeesh  or  grou^nd  that  is  now 
planted  for  ten  Fatham  of  Wampam,  Ten  Coates,  Ten  howes,  Ten  hatchets, 
&  Ten  knifes  :  and  also  the  said  ancient  Indians  Avith  the  Consent  of  the  rest, 
&  in  particular  \\^^  the  Consent  of  Menis  &  Wrutherna  &  Napompenam.  do 
trucke  &  sel  to  AVilliam  Pynchon  Henry  Smith  &  Jehu  Burr.  &  their  suc- 
cessors, for  ever,  al  that  ground  on  the  East  side  of  Quinneckiot  River  called 
Usquajok  &  Nayasset  reaching  about  four  or  five  miles  in  Length,  from  the 
north  end  of  Masaksicke  up  to  Chickuppe  River,  for  four  fatham  of  AVampam. 
four  Coates.  four  howes,  four  hatchets,  four  knifes :  Also  the  said  ancient 
Indians  Doe  w*''^  the  Consent  of  the  other  Indians,  &  in  particular  w^'^  the 
Consent  of  Machetuhood  Wenepawin,  ^V  Mokemoos  trucke  &  sel  the  ground 
&  muckeosquittaj,  &  grounds  adjoyning,  called  Masaksicke,  for  four  fatham  of 
wampam,  four  Coates,  four  iiatchets  &  four  howes,  and  four  knifes, 

And  the  said.  Pynchon  hatii  in  hand  paid  the  said  eighteen  fatham  of 
Wampam.  eighteen  coates.  IS  hatchets,  18.  howes,  IS  knifes  to  the  said  Com- 
mucke &  Matanchan,  &  doth  further  condition  \v''^  the  sd  Indians,  that  they 
shal  have  &  enjoy  all  that  Cottinackeesh,  or  ground  that  is  now  planted : 
And  have  liberty  to  take  Fish  &  Deer,  groundnuts,  walnuts,  akornes.  & 
sasachimmeph  or  a  kind  of  pease.  And  also  if  any  of  o'"  Cattle  spoile  their 
corne,  to  pay  as  it  is  worth;  &  that  hogs  shall  not  goe  on  the  side  of  Agaam 
but  in  akorne  time :  Also  the  said  Pynchon  doth  give  to  Wrutherna  two 
Coates  over  &  above  the  said  Particulars  exp''ssed.  &  In  Witnes  hereof  the 
two  said  Indians  &  the  Rest,  doe  set  to  their  hands,  this  ])'sent  lo^'^  day  of 
July.    ItlSO. 


h  'fAt^eiyJc-^^'-'^''  ^    ever,      ^f  f-^2tt-     0lt7t/^   <nL  ^-Pc   £aih  j^^  Cf^  <^ajCm, 


^/t^r.^  ^H«^7^  ,^^^--  '^^  ^  ^^^J^  el<i^^ce^  A^«^  ^ 
-^:t:f  ."^^f^-  c^r,  ,^£^eeh,  .8  ^./.  '^^-^^.^^>^ 


C^c^'^ 


Old  Indian  Deed. 


14  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


The  Indians  signing  the  above  deed  were  INIenis,  Maehetiihood, 
Cuttonas,  Kenis,  Cnmmucke,  Matanchan,  AVessa  (or  Xepinam), 
Macossak,  Wrutherna,  Koekninek,  Winnepawiu,  Wenawis,  and 
Coa. 

The  Indians,  as  they  crowded  about  the  table,  seemed  to  have 
no  difficulty  in  hitting  upon  designs  to  stand  for  their  signatures. 
One  drew  a  canoe,  one  an  arrow,  another  a  bow  and  arrow.  The 
white  witnesses  of  this  historic  deed  were  John  Allen,  Richard 
Everett,  Joseph  Parsons,  Thomas  Horton,  Faithful  Thayeler,  and 
John  Cownes.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  these  are  all  new  names, 
and  also  that  two  of  them,  Everett  and  Cowues,  made  tlieir  marks 
just  as  the  savages  did. 

The  double  title  to  the  site  of  Springfield  was  now  obtained,  — 
the  transfers  under   the    king's  patent    and    the  Indian  deed.     The 
political  status  and  official  allegiance  of  William    Pynchon,  during 
this    interregunm,    is    not    quite    clear.       He    was    a    member    of 
the  provisional    commission   that    governed    Connecticut;    and   yet, 
after   this    commission,  he   sat,  as  an  assistant,  in    the    Massachu- 
setts  Bay  colony.     A  few  weeks  after  the    signing  of   the  Indian 
deed  Mr.  Pynchon  was   once   more    in    Boston,  and    attended    the 
Court  of   Quarter   Sessions,  as  well    as    the    General    Court.     The 
latter   continued    until    the    close    of    October;    but    probably    Mr. 
Pynchon  was  permitted    to  leave  before   that,  as    he    appeared    at 
Newtown    (Hartford,  Conn.)    at    the    opening  of    the    Connecticut 
court    there,   November   1. 

Mr.  Pynchon  was  undoubtedly  too  busy  with  the  affairs  of  the 
plantation  to  go  through  the  valley  to  any  extent  during  the  first 
year.  He  had  written  to  John  Winthrop,  Jr.:  "I  will  hasten  to 
settle  myself  there  [Agawam]  as  soone  as  I  can,  &  then  I  shall  see 
all  the  plantations."  Pynchon  was  already  at  work  shipping  goods 
to  the  younger  Winthrop.  There  are  records  of  '^liver-culler 
shagg"  cloth  and  "  tauny  shagg  "  sent  to  Winthrop  ;  and  we  find 
this    bit   of    business    advice,    from    Pynchon    to    his    Connecticut 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1 8  86.  15 


friend,  dated  Roxbnry,  J11I3'  4,  I606  :  ''As  for  using  oiild  traders 
to  trade  for  yon,  it  is  not  the  best  way  for  your  gaine  :  for  tliey 
know  how  to  save  tliemselves  ;  but  a  trusty  man  that  never  was 
a  trader  will  quickl}^  find  the  way  of  trading,  &  bring  j^ou  l)est 
profitt,  &  so  the  God  of  peace  be  with  you  ever."  ]\Ir.  Pynchon 
said,  in  the  same  letter:  — 

I  received  a  parsell  of  course  wampam  from  you,  but  I  could  not  trade 
any  of  it.  because  others  were  furnished  plenty  of  better :  l)ut  if  you  will 
send  me  a  parsell  of  100  or  200  fathom  of  fine  white  wampan  I  shall  ac- 
cept it  as  bever.  If  30U  sell  not  this  cloth,  keepe  it  in  good  condition  &  I 
will  take  it  again. 

It  would  thus  appear  that  Pynchon  and  Winthrop  both  were 
concerned,   at  first,  in  trading  operations  upon  a  small  scale. 

Mr.  Pynchon  probably  had  his  house  far  enough  advanced  by  the 
closing  in  of  winter,  1636,  to  afford  not  onl}^  his  immediate  family 
shelter,  but  possibly  others.  The  pine  forests  on  the  great  plain 
east  and  north  of  the  new  village  were  substantial^  free  of  under- 
brush, owing  to  the  annual  autumn  burnings  which  the  Indians  re- 
sorted to,  possibly  to  facilitate  their  movements.  The  oak  and 
chestnut  groves  were  carefully  protected  from  fire,  however.  The 
Indian  summer  of  two  hundred  and  fift}^  years  ago,  with  its  wild 
fire  climbing  from  tree  to  tree  up  the  mountain  sides,  driving  the 
game  before  it,  or  licking  up  the  brush  on  river  banks,  and  flushing 
the  birds  on  the  plain  and  in  jungles,  resembled  onl}^  remotely  that 
placid  haze,  under  an  exaggerated  sun,  so  seductive  to  young  poets 
of  our  day. 

The  company  of  frontier  settlers  was  unable  to  secure  a  minister 
the  first  year,  and  Mr.  P3mchon  gathered  the  little  flock  together, 
probably  at  his  house,  and  conducted  divine  service.  He  wrote  his 
sermons,  and  his  young  son,  John,  often  took  abstracts  of  them. 

The  Agawam  Indians,  in  their  fort  on  Long  hill,  were  pleased  to 
see  the  English  settlino"  in  their  immediate  vicinity.     It  gave  them  a 


16  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

powerful  ally  against  warlike  tribes  both  to  the  south  and  the  west, 
audit  increased  the  value  and  importance  of  their  planting-grounds. 
The  middle  meadow  adjoining  the  Agawam  meadow  was  known  as 
Quana.  The  region  at  Longmeadow  was  called  Masacksick  ;  Mill 
river  was  called  Usquajok ;  Springfield,  including  the  Chicopee 
plains,  was  Nayasset ;  and  Westfield  was  called  AVoronoco. 

John  Oldham  was  killed  by  the  Indians  near  Block  Island  a  few 
da^^s  after  the  Agawam  deed  had  been  signed,  and  a  terrible  struggle 
with  the  savages  was  precipitated.  On  the  following  May,  1637, 
war  was  declared  at  Hartford  against  the  Pequots.  Pyuchou  was 
not  present,  but  it  was  voted  that  "  Mr.  Pincheons  shallopp  shal  be 
taken  to  be  imployed  in  this  designe."  Mr.  Ludlow  apologized  for 
this  liberty  a  few  days  later. 

The  new  plantation  ])y  that  time  had  quite  a  number  of  houses 
along  the  west  side  of  our  present  ]Main  street,  and  they  were 
tolerabh^  well  fortified.  But  they  lived  in  constant  fear,  and  if  they 
had  been  attacked  at  that  time  the}^  might  easily  have  been  exter- 
minated. The  Agawam  and  Woronoco  Indians  showed  no  disposi- 
tion to  fight.  Indeed,  they  had  looked  upon  the  wliites  from  the 
start  as  allies. 

The  3''ear  1637  was  a  trying  and  exciting  one,  as  no  one  could  tell 
at  what  moment  the  whole  Indian  population  would  rise  and  join  the 
Pequots  in  a  war  of  extermination.  House-building  and  land-clear- 
ing and  the  opening  of  the  main  street  were  attended  with  an 
ever-present  sense  of  insecurity. 

It  was  not  until  over  a  year  had  passed  that  the  first  article  of  the 
original  town  compact  was  carried  out,  and  a  minister  secured.  Rev. 
George  Moxon,  of  Bost©n,  arrived  at  Agawam  in  the  autumn  of 
1637.  He  was  a  short,  stout  man  of  five  and  thirty,  and  was  a  per- 
sonal friend  of  Mr.  P3mchon.  His  arrival  was  an  occasion  of  great 
felicitation,  for  the  allotments  of  land  and  the  clearing  of  the  forests 
were  merely  the  preliminaries.  The  great  work  of  the  settlers  was  to 
esta])lish  and  spread  the  kingdom  of  God  in  the  New  World.     There 


SPRiyGFIELD,    J03G-1S86.  17 


was  a  belief  abroad  in  those  times  that  America  was  destined  to  be 
a  peculiar  land,  favored  of  God,  and  many  of  the  laws  so  repugnant 
to  modern  ideas  of  freedom  and  justice  were  designed  to  hasten  the 
day  when  that  hope  should  be  realized. 

The  coming  of  ]Mr.  Moxon  was  propitious  also,  as  it  occurred  at 
the  season  of  general  thanksgiving  through  New  Enghmd  at  the 
overthrow  of  the  Pequots.  AVith  all  their  trials  and  anxieties,  there 
was  more  blue  sky  than  cloud  above  them,  and  Agawam  observed 
October  12,  its  first  day  of  thanksgiving,  with  renewed  heart  and  a 
hope  that  could  not  be  subdued. 

The  records  of  many  of  the  lirst  town-meetings  are  unfortunately 
lost,  and  it  is  not  until  the  spring  of  1688  that  we  can  secure  any 
definite  notion  of  the  course  of  local  legislation.  AVe  will,  therefore, 
only  anticipate  at  this  point  enough  to  say: that  one  meets  continually 
in  these  ding}^  I'ecords  of  the  ancient  town  the  reflections  of  English 
methods  of  local  government.  Local  democrac}'  and  the  town- 
meeting  were  no  invention.  Every  i)hase  of  it  was  more  or  less  a 
reflection  of  English  civiUzation.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  English 
Church  in  its  relations  to  the  State,  the  New  England  town-meeting 
would  n(jt  have  been  what  it  was.  Xew-Englandism  was,  as  it  were, 
an  oak-buttressed  '^  L  "  against  the  great  mansion  of  Pmglish  civiliza- 
tion. One  can  even  go  further,  and  safel}^  assert  that  if  the  first 
settlers  had  not  read  the  De  Moribus  or  Popxlis  Gerniania'  of 
Tacitus,  they  certainly  revealed  a  contact  of  some  sort  with  German 
folk-life  and  town-life.  Even  to  this  day  town  communism  retains 
its  hold  upon  the  Teutonic  race.  In  a  recent  magazine  article  on 
''Hanoverian  Milage  Life,"  we  find  this  passage  quite  in  point: 
"  The  tilled  land  is  very  minutely  subdivided,  the  pasturage  and 
forest  lands  being  held  and  used  in  connnon."  The  management  and 
allotments  of  these  lands  in  Hanover  are  primarily  in  the  hands  of 
the  farmers,  with,  of  course,  a  State  supervision. 

In  the  English  parish  of  the  seventeenth  century,  whether  it  had  a 
civil  or  religious  origin,  with  botli  Koman  and  German  marks  upon 


18  SPRINGFIELD,    1 6.36-1  SS  6. 

it,  we  fiud  the  grouudwork  of  our  New  England  town-meeting,  or 
rather  the  ideas  upon  which  onr  forefathers  worked,  and  fi-om  which 
they  perfected  their  scheme  of  local  government.  The  English 
parish  was  a  church  district  at  the  time  we  treat,  organized  with 
sundry  privileges  of  local  civil  government.  The  local  rates  and 
taxes  were  imposed  by  the  English  parish.  Once  a  3^ear  the  English 
rector  would  '' perambulate "  the  bounds  of  the  parish  to  confirm 
its  limits  and  to  repeat  the  ancient  anathema  :  "  Cursed  be  he  ^vhich 
translateth  the  bounds  and  doles  of  his  neighbor."  The  vestry 
meeting  was  the  parish  gathering,  in  which  highways,  sanitar}^ 
matters,  church  and  poor  rates,  Avere  all  attended  to  by  vote,  —  a 
suffrage  based  up^on  material  possessions.  One  of  the  most  impor- 
tant offices  filled  by  the  vestry  was  that  of  church-warden,  these  elec- 
tions sometimes  causing  great  excitement.  A  warden  was  both  a 
civil  and  religious  officer,  and  from  the  English  conception  of  this 
office  came  the  New  England  "  Select  Townsman,"  as  one  will  readil}" 
see  upon  comparing  the  duties  of  both.  Mr.  P^mchon  was  one  of 
the  wardens  of  the  parish  at  Springfield,  England,  and  upon  the 
Agawam  and  Springfield  town-meetings  we  see  resting  the  shadow  of 
the  English  vestr}^  meeting. 

It  is  a  common  remark  that  the  advance  in  civilization  is  ac- 
companied by  increasingly  complicated  codes  and  statutes  ;  but  we 
will  see  upon  opening  a  book  of  New  England  town  records  of  the 
seventeenth  centur}'  that  the  complexity  of  our  present  statute  law  is 
technical  and  incidental,  the  tendency  .all  along  having  been  toward 
simplicity  and  a  broadening  of  principle.  At  first,  a  man  could  in 
effect  do  nothing  but  what  was  permitted  him  b}^  legislation  ;  now,  he 
can  do  everything  except  what  is  prohibited.  This  is  the  case  broadly 
stated. 

But  in  reference  to  Agawam  individually  it  may  be  said,  with  some 
local  pride,  that  the  hard  rules  of  the  Ba}^  were  materiall}^  modified 
from  the  beginning.  We  had  here  little  or  no  religious  persecu- 
tion, no  eastern  disciplinary  splitting  of  noses,  clamping  of  the  tongue 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  19 


with  split  sticks,  no  braDcliiigs  of  the  forehead.  And  yet,  the 
scheme  of  parental  supervision  of  men's  movements  was  stoutly 
adhered  to. 

The  town-meeting  was  the  source  of  all  local  authority.  The 
colonial  law  imposed  a  religious  test  upon  all  men  entering  this 
assembly  of  freemen.  This  assembly  owned  and  managed  all  the 
land,  apportioned  it  to  individuals,  filled  civil  and  religious  offices, 
built  churches,  hired  ministers,  oi)ened  and  repaired  roads,  regulated 
the  walk  and  conversation  of  the  individual,  nominated  the  magis- 
trate, the  constable,  the  officers  of  the  training  band,  elected  all  town 
officers,  superintended  trade  between  man  and  man,  fixed  the  price 
of  labor,  limited  market  prices,  regulated  the  forests,  determined  the 
rotation  of  crops  in  the  commons,  even  fixed  the  bedtime  of  the 
inhabitants,  their  seasons  of  worship  and  their  hours  of  labor.  At 
first  there  was  a  disposition  to  do  away  with  executive  officers  as  much 
^s  possible  in  the  town-meeting.  For  nearly  ten  years  there  is  no  evi- 
dence that  selectmen  were  elected  at  Springfield.  There  w^ere  sur- 
veyors to  see  to  the  condition  of  the  highways,  after  the  manner  of 
the  English  vestry,  and  the  town-meeting  was  continually  appointing 
special  committees  to  perform  certain  prescribed  duties,  with  fines 
prescribed  if  those  duties  were  not  attended  to,  or  if  the  freemen  re- 
fused to  accept  any  office  imposed  on  tliem  ;  but  nowdiere  in  the  records 
is  there,  for  nearly  a  decade,  any  evidence  that  "  towmsmen  "  were 
appointed  with  discretionary  powers  of  governing.  There  was  no 
need  of  selectmen,  with  the  whole  body  of  the  freemen  regularly  in 
session  once  a  month  for  the  transaction  of  business. 


CHAPTER    II. 

1038-1039. 

William  Pynchon  and  the  Iiuliaii.  —  Captain  Mason,  of  Connecticut.  —  Pynchon  and 
Mason  contrasted  —  Oii<^in  of  the  Charges  against  Mr.  Pynchon.  —  Corn  Contracts 
with  the  Indians  and  the  Connecticut.  —  Captain  Mason  visits  Agawam  (Springfield)^ 
—  Heated  Dispute  hetween  Mason  and  Pynchon,  —  Mason's  Hasty  Return  to  Con- 
necticut. —  Mr.  Pynchon  summoned  to  Hartford,  and  charged  with  speculating  in 
Corn.  —  His  Trial  and  Conviction.  —  Stai-ving  Condition  of  the  Agawam  Inhab- 
itants.—  Captain  Mason  authorized  to  trade  with  the  Massachusetts  Indians.  —  Mr^ 
WilKam  Pyuchon's  "  Apology." 

During  the  first  three  years  of  the  Agawam's  plantation  exist- 
ence William  Pynchon  was  a  great  traveller,  both  in  this  valley  and 
the  Bay  country,  and  his  impressive  figure  and  strange  garb  became 
a  familiar  sight  to  the  Indians.  This  stern  horseman  riding  down  a 
forest  bridle-path,  attended  by  a  mounted  servant,  became  to  the 
Indians  the  impersonation  of  justice. 

There  was  another  horseman  in  this  valle}^  farther  down  the  river, 
whose  faith  in  the  Indian  was  rooted  to  his  sword-hilt.  Him  the 
Indians  feared.  The  reverence  of  one  and  the  fear  of  the  other  in 
the  savage  mind  deepened  as  time  wore  on.  We  have  nothing  to  do 
with  the  Captain  John  Mason  and  the  William  Pynchon  conception 
of  the  Indian  character,  except  so  far  as  it  aids  us  in  gaining  the 
secret  of  the  Pynchon  hold  upon  the  natives.  — a  hold  that  outlived 
that  age,  and  forms  an  important  part  of  the  primitive  history  of  the 
Commonwealth.  The  Pynchon  and  the  Mason  polic}^  toward  the 
Indian  conflicted  at  all  points.  While  neither  had  a  high  opinion 
of  the  Indian,  the  founder  of  Springfield  persisted  in  taking  hold 
of  those  ethical  elements  that  are  implanted  in  himian  nature  even  in 
the  rough  ;  but  the  Connecticut  man  was  continually  crushing  through 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6.  21 

theuiitive  eoiiceptioii  of  justice  and  gaiiiiog  his  ends  as  with  a  cleaver. 
We  do  not  den}'  certain  extenuating  circumstances  favoring  Captain 
^Mason's  policy  of  force,  nor  begrudge  him  one  spark  of  that  grim 
prestige  that  borrows  its  radiance  from  the  l)urning  Pequot  fort  and 
its  memorable  holocaust ;  but  we  simply  marvel  that  Mason  and 
Hooker  and  Stone  and  the  rest  should  have  been  unable  to  under- 
stand the  motives  and  the  spirit  of  AVilliam  Pynchon  in  his  dealings 
with  the  Indians.  No  historian  lias  fully  investigated  this  interesting 
chapter  of  New  England,  nor  attempted  to  state  even  vaguely  the 
merits  of  Pynchon's  falling  out  with  the  Hartford  government.  It 
has  been  too  readily  and  quite  unjustly  assumed  that  he  was  a 
money-maker,  and  that  Connecticut  rebuked  him  accordingly. 
"  How  can  you  explain  away  the  refusal  of  3'our  ancestor  to  supply 
Hartford  with  corn  ?  "  asks  an  historian  of  our  day  of  a  contempo- 
rary P^mchon.  During  our  quarter-millennial  celebration  of  May, 
1886,   a  Connecticut   newspaper  took   occasion   to  remark:  — 

Mr.  Pynchon  -was  the  tir^;t  monopolist  of  tliis  vicinity.  As  far  back  as  1038 
he  was  given  the  sole  right  to  trade  in  corn  with  the  Indians,  on  condition  of  his 
supplying  our  [Connecticut]  colony  with  a  certain  amount  at  a  fixed  price.  AA^e 
have  no  notion  of  raking  up  old  sores  with  Springfield  at  this  late  day :  but  it  is 
;i  sad  fact  that  Mr.  Pynchon  was  not  very  careful  to  •■  promote  the  publique 
good."  Human  nature  in  all  ages  seems  to  find  it  pretty  hard  to  resist  the  op- 
portunity to  abuse  such  privileges. 

It  will  be  admitted  that  the  reading  of  the  meagre  references  in 
the  histories  to  the  charge  brought  against  Mr.  Pynchon  of  specu- 
lating on  the  necessities  of  the  river  towns  might  lead  to  the 
conclusions  above  quoted  ;  but  the  Connecticut  editor  is  wrong  in 
evei}^  particular  of  his  charge.  William  Pynchon  did  not  hold  a 
monopoly  of  the  corn  trade  for  Connecticut ;  the  price  was  not  fixed  : 
he  did  not  abuse  his  privileges.  The  controversy  is  very  much  in- 
volved, but  as  there  has  never  appeared,  to  our  knowledge,  a  complete 
statement  in  print,  a  good  deal  of  time   iias  been   spent  in  gathering 


22  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

the  material  together  with  the  hope  that  it  will  fill  a  gap  in  the  aonals 
of  western  Massachusetts  and  vindicate  Pynchon,  without  reflecting 
ui)on  the  reputation  or  motives  of  the  Connecticut  leaders.  As  the 
controversy  is  full  of  bitter  personalities,  that  even  outlived  the  lives^ 
of  the  actors,  it  is  simpl}^  the  part  of  candor  to  say  that  tlie  opinion 
in  New  England  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  among  the  ablest 
men  was  that  a  strong  arm  would  do  more  in  a  day  with  the  savage 
than  a  year  of  loving-kindness  and  tender  mercy.  Mr.  Pynchon  did 
not  so  l)elieve,  and  hence  the  conflict  between  Springfield  and  Hart- 
ford. He  never  designedl}^  violated  the  Indian's  notion  of  right  and 
wrong,  but  when  he  made  a  bargain  with  the  Indians,  he  even 
suffered   rather  than  break  it,  or  allow  it  to  be  broken. 

The  question  of  securing  corn  for  the  towns  after  the  Pequot 
war  came  up  at  Hartford  during  the  Fe])ruary  session  of  1G38  ;  Mr. 
Pynchon  was  not  present.  If  each  man  had  been  allowed  to  trade 
with  the  Indians  at  will,  the  price  would  naturally  have  been  ad- 
vanced.    The  court,  therefore,  ordered  that  — 

Xoe  man  in  tliis  Kiver  nor  Ag:nvam  shall  goe  upp  l^iA^er  amonge  the  Indians 
or  at  home  theire  houses  to  trade  for  Corne  or  make  any  Contract  or  l)aro:aine 
araonge  them  for  corne  either  privately  or  publiquely  nppon  the  paine  of  os.  for 
every  bushell  that  hee  or  they  shall  soe  trade. 

At  this  court  Agawam  was  assessed  £8G  IGs.  for  the  Pequot  war 
expenses,  and  Jehu  Burr  was  appointed  collector  at  Agawam.  It  is 
not  known  why  Mr.  Pynchon  remained  away  from  the  February  meet- 
ing of  the  General  Court.  He  had  a  written  contract  witli  the  Agawam 
Indians  to  furnish  him  during  the  spring  five  hundred  bushels  of  corn. 
March  4  was  the  first  da}^  for  the  payment  of  an  instalment  of  grain. 
The  Indians  did  not  keep  their  word,  and  Mr.  Pynclioil  went  down 
the  river  three  days  later,  feeling  very  much  concerned  about  it. 
The  court  opened  on  the  8th  of  March.  After  .some  questions  put 
to  ]Mr.   Pynchon   and    Mr.    Plum!:)    (both   members   of   the  General 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6.  23 


Court)  iibout  simdry  punishments  intlieted  upon  Indiuns  in  their 
capacity  as  magistrates,  the  reguhition  of  the  corn  trade  came  up, 
and  this  vote  was  passed  :  — 

It  is  ordered  Avith  tlie  consent  of  :\Ir.  Pincheon  that  the  saide  ^Ir.  Pyncheon 
AvilldeUver  att  Harteforde  goode  Marchantable  Indian  Corne  att  5s.  p'"  bushell  as 
farr  as  500  bushells  will  goe  at,  if  hee  can  save  by  that,  for  tlie  residue  hee  is 
to  have  5s.  2d.  p^  bushell.  provided  also  that  that  proporcon  that  Windsor  is  to 
liave  shal  ]>e  landed  there  at  ]\Ir.  Ludlowes.  for  that  proporcon  that  Wethers- 
feild  is  to  have  they  are  to  it  att  Harteford.  In  considercon  where  of  ther  is  a 
constrainte  of  any  to  go  upp  the  River  to  trade  with  the  Indians  for  Corne:  as 
alsoe,  if  any  Indians  bring  downe  any  Corne  to  us  wee  are  not  to  exceede  4s  p^ 
l)ushell:  as  alsoe  in  case  of  necessity  that  any  family  or  familyes  doe  complaine 
,.f  present  necesshies  they  are  to  repaire  to  3  magistrates  which  may  advise  them 
for  the  supply,  althougli  it  be  to  the  dispensing  of  this  order;  provided  also  that 
if  the  said  Mr  Pincheon  bee  inforced  to  raise  the  price  with  the  Indians  of  sixe 
sixes  of  Wompom  a  pecke,  then  the  plantacons  are  to  increase  the  pay  of  5s  p>- 
bushell :   if  be  can  abate  anything  hee  will  sette  of  soe  much  of  5s  p>-  bushell. 

This  ^^  Mr.  Ludlowe  "  was  Roger  Ludlow,  who  liad  transactions 
with  ^lY.  Pynchou,  as  appears  from  this  letter  to  William  Pynchon, 
dated  May  17,  IGoT  :  — 

For  your  .lebt  I  am  solicitous  of.  and  I  think  the  long  before  now  I  was  never 
demanded  twice  in  my  life,  nehher  should  this,  I  hope,  if  not  for  the  wars  that  I 
cannot  go  into  the  Bay  to  settle  business  to  pay  your  debt  which  is  the  greatest 
I  owe  in  the  world.     Therefore  pray,  sir,  have  patience. 

In  this  General  Court  order  it  will  be  seen  that  Mr.  Pynchou 
was  the  colony  ^,agent  to  buy  corn  with  discretion  as  to  price 
over  what  the  ^colony  expected  to  pay.  Pynchou  would  gain  noth- 
ing by  an  increase  of  the  price.  He  received  his  order  to  trade  on 
the  8th  of  March,  and  he  returned  to  Agawam  upon  the  11th. 
Three  days  later  (14th)  he  despatched  a  messenger  to  Mr.  Ludlow, 
informing  him  that  corn  was  very  scarce.  Mr.  Ludlow's  reply  did 
not  contain  any  reflection  upon  Mr.  Pynchou.  The  Connecticut  rec- 
ords are  very  imperfect,  the  dates  of  some  of  the  orders  of  the  Gen- 


^^  '  SPRINGFIELD,    2  63  6-1 8S  6. 


eral  Court  eveu  l:»eiDg  omitted.  The  followiuo-  vote  at  Hartford  it 
may  be  presumed,  was  taken  after  Mr.  Pyuclioo's  messenger  arrived 
there  :  — 

Whereas,  it  was  or.lere.l  „cto  -he  (Mareii)  last  that  there  should  l,e  a  re- 
stramte  of  tradinge  for  Corne  m  regarde  of  some  ....  with  Mr.  Pmcheon  to 
supply  the  plantacons.  uppon  consideracon  of  Mr.  Pineheons  that  hee  is  some 
what  feareful  of  supplying  the  plantacons.  and  whereas  there  is  a  Clause  in  case 
of  necessity  3  magistrates  may  dispence  with  the  order.  It  is  therefore  ordered 
that  Mr.  Ludlowe  and  Captaine  Mason  or  either  of  them,  takino-  likewise  such 
with  them  as  shalbe  meete.  shall  trade  to  supply  tlieire  owne  necessities  and  the 
necessities  of  some  other  that  are  m  wante. 

This  order  :nay  have  been  dated  March   lo,  1638.     At  any  rate 

Captain  Mason  called  upon  William  Pynchon   at  his  Auawam^home' 

March  21.     He  had  with   him  some  armed  troopers  and  a  Xonotuck 

(Northampton)  Indian.      The  meeting  of  these   two  notable  men  is 

nowhere  spoken  of  in  the  histories,  but  it  is  impossilile  to  understand 

the  events  that  followed  without  knowing  what  happened   at  tliat 

time.     Captain  Mason's  exploits  in  the   Pequot  war  were   heralded 

abroad,   and  this  reputation   must  have  been  a  source  of  personal 

gratification  to  him  as  a  military  commander.      He  had  been  an  Eno-- 

lish  soldier  in  the  Netherlands,   and   may  have  known  Pynchon  at 

Dorchester,  where  they  both  had  first  settled  in  New  England.   .Alason 

from    the    start  had  had   a  contempt  of   the   Indian  Is    a  fiohtino- 

animal.  ^        ° 

William  Pynchon,  upon  the  other  hand,  was  a  student  and  law- 
yer, and  a  man  who  believed  that  only  through  a  primitive  code  of 
ethics  could  amicable  relations  subsist  between  the  English  and  the 
red  man.  We  do  not  need  the  testimony  of  dingy  manuscripts  to  be 
told  that  Mason  and  Pynchon  could  not  agree  about  the  Indian. 

AVhen  Captain  Mason  had  entered  Mr.  Pynchon's  house  -the 
small  one  that  gave  way  twenty-two  years  later  to  the  famous 
Pynchon  garrison-house,  —  the  soldier  from   Hartford  said:  — 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  25 


I  am  com  to  trade  .^^ome  rorne  with  the  Indians,  and  I  have  traded  some  at 
Woronoco  [Westfield].  and  1  had  purposed  to  have  you  to  Xanotack,  but  I  mett 
Avith  one  of  Xanotack,  here  at  Airaam,  and  I  would  have  traded  some  corue  with 
lum  yester  night,  hut  lie  saitli  he  dared  not  without  y'"  leave,  for  saide  he,  he  is 
afraid  of  you.  as  alsoe  are  the  Indians  on  the  Riverside,  for  say  they,  you  re- 
quire six  peeces  of  cloth  of  them,  whereas  they  were  but  two  whole  pieces 
stolen,  and  thirteen  coates,  but  I  told  him  that  I  thought  you  were  not  angry  and 
that  you  ueyther  could,  nor  Avould  have  hurte  to  them.  But  I  pray,  tell  this 
Indian  of  Nannotak  that  you  will  n.ot  be  angry  with  him,  if  he  trade  corne  downe 
the  river. 

]\lr.  P>^iK'lion  isaid  nt  once  that  he  knew  no  reason  why  the 
Nonotnek  Indian  should  fear  him.  He  then  proposed  that  the 
rest  of  the  conference  be  carried  on  apart,  as  it  would  not  do  to 
let  the  Indians  realize  the  extent  of  the  English  distress  for  food. 

"I  care  not  Avho  knows  them,"'  said  Mason;  but  Mr.  Pynchon 
ordered  his  trader,  Kicltard  Everett  (who,  l)y  the  way,  ])elonged 
to  the  family  of  Edward  Everett),  to  open  the  trading-house 
door,  and  the  party  repaired  tiiere.  There  were  at  the  trading- 
house  C'aptaui  ^lason  and  an  associtite,  Thomas  Dewey,  and  Mr. 
Pynchon,  with  his  trader.  ''Sir,"  continued  Mason,  ''I  have 
l)rought  up  some  cloth  and  wampam.  to  trade  some  corne  with 
the  Indians  :  c^  1  desire  you  to  deal  with  them  for  us,  &  to 
Binde  them  to  a  bargaine  to  l)ring  it  down." 

To  this  ^Ir.  Pynchon  replied,  that  that  was  not  the  way  to  bind 
the  Indians  to  a  bargain,  as  they  would  break  their  promise  if 
they  were  paid  in  advance,  '•  wiiereu[)ou  som  anger  might  fol- 
low, and  then  if  I  had  a  hand  in  it,  tliey  may  beare  me  a  grudge; 
for  I  feare  their  treacherous  dealinge,  we  being  remote,  &  but 
weaker :  therefore  I  will  neither  niake  nor  meddle  to  binde  y'" 
to  a  bargaine.  Hut  I  will  do  this.  I  will  propound  a  rate  of 
H  sixes  to  carry  downe  their  corne,  and  <;  sixes  to  bringe  it  to  my 
house,  and  propound  a  free  trade,  and  give  them  choice  as  before  I 
have  declared." 

The  Captain  flew  into  a  "  greate  passion,"  and  exclaimed  :  '•  AVhat 


26  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


hurt^an  it  be  to  you?  I  pray,  Sir,  let  me  know  what  hurt  can  it  be 
to  3'oa,  for  it  is  a  dark  riddle  to  me." 

Parson  Moxon,  who  had  Ijeen  sent  for,  arrived  at  the  trading- 
house  at  this  juncture.  Mr.  Pyuchon  explained  the  situation,  and 
added  that  Mason  had  given  the  AVoronoco  Indians  wampum  in  ad- 
vance, and  would  have  done  the  same  at  Nonotuck  if  Pynchon  had 
not  objected.  The  parties  Avere  testing  Captain  Mason's  corn-bag 
when  Henry  Smith  arrived  at  the  trading-house,  and  the  discussion 
was  renewed. 

Then  said  Mr.  Moxon:  "  An  Indian  promise  is  noe  more  than  to 
have  a  pigg  by  the  taile."  This,  b}'  the  way,  is  the  first  quotation 
extant  of  anything  Moxon  had  ever  said.  Mr.  Smith's  opinion  as 
to  advanced  payments  in  buying  corn  was  in  the  same  vein.  He 
said  :  — 

That  is  the  rather  to  drive  them  from  us,  and  the  worst  way  to  get  a  supply 
of  Corne ;  as  we  have  had  late  experience  about  the  debt  they  owe  M^  Finchon ; 
for  they  kept  away  from  us,  and  would  not  come  at  us  because  they  were  held 
to  their  promise.  Thus,  therefore  will  they  deale  with  him  as  they  have  with 
M''.  Tinchon,  and  afterwards  say  (by  a\  ay  of  excuse)  that  they  were  fools  not 
knowing  Avliat  they  did. 

Captain  Mason  at  last  "  beganne  to  barken  to  ^V.  Pinchon's  mo- 
tion of  free-trade,  (viz.)  six  sixes  a  pecke  at  his  house,  and  eight 
sixes  to  canT  it  downe,"  and  Pinchon  promised  to  aid  him  as 
best  he  could,  he  having  already  made  the  same  proposition  to  the 
Indians  before  Cnptain  Mason  arrived. 

'^  Why  did  3T)u  not  say  this  at  first?  "  asked  INIason.  "  This  is  all 
1  desire  of  you.'" 

Thereupon  the  Nonotuck  Indian,  who  was  loitering  about,  was 
called  up.  Captain  Mason  appearing  to  be  convinced  that  Mr.  P}^- 
chon's  way  was  the  better.  Mr.  Pynchon  addressed  the  up-river 
Indian,  telling  of.  "  a  sachem,  one  Captaine  Mason,  that  desired  to 
trade  corne,"  that   "•  it  Avas  nuicli  minuett  to  give  free-trade."  and 


^^  SPRINGFIELD,    1G3G~1S86. 


that  he  would  give  six  sixes  a  peek  for  com  delivered   at  Aoawam 
or  eight  sixes  delivered  at  Hartford,      lint  the  Indian  protested  that 
their  corn  was  mnch  of  it  mined  by  the  snow,  and  that  the  river  was 
too  high   to  transport  any  to  Hartford.     Mason   admitted  that  the 
Indian  had  told  him  all  this  the  night  l)efore. 

The  points  to  be  remembered  in  this  account  are  that  Mason's  re- 
quest to  Mr.  Pynchon,  to  remove  the  fear  of  the  Indian  to  trade,  was 
while  the\^  were  in  the  dwelling-house,  but  that  Mr.  Pynchon's  re- 
mark that  he  would  neither  ^^  make  uor  meddle  "  was  while  they  were 
at  the  trading-house,  and  was  in  respcmse  to  ^Mason's  request  that 
Pynchon  should  aid  him  in  making  a  bargain  contrary  to  Pynchon's 
habit  in  dealing  with  the  Indians.  This  point  was  ])rought  into  dis- 
pute later. 

Mr.  Pynchon  had  previously  given  six  sixes  a  peck  for  corn,  as  the 
Connecticut  General  Court  knew,  and  therefore *it  was  evident  that 
in  the  stress  under  which  the  English  were,  the  Indians  attempted  to 
get  more.  And  besides,  the  Indians  had  received  eight  sixes  the  year 
])efore.  This  price,  then,  seemed  reasonable  :  and  if  corn  went  up, 
it  went  up  on  the  issue  of  supply  and  demand,  which  holds  good  in  all 
conntries  and  times.  In  si)eaking  of  tiie  tronhle  in  persuading  the 
Indians  to  trade  after  Pynchon's  conunission  from  the  General  Court, 
Mr.  Pynchon  wrote  subsequently  :  — 

I  alsoe  lyesented  to  them  dayly  both  clotli  and  Avampam  of  the  best  for  corne, 
if  they  would  bring  any  to  trade :  but  still  they  put  it  off  by  excuses,  on  purpose 
to  make  me  raiae  the  price,  and  inileed  it  would  weary  any  to  se  what  subtill 
pleadings  they  nave  dayly  used  for  this  purpose :  as  Mr.  Moxoii  and  Mr.  Smith 
liave  plentifull  experience. 

But  now  as  to  the  upshot  of  the  Mason-Pynchon  interview  upon 
the  21st  of  March,  1638.  They  separated  in  anything  but  a  cordial 
spirit.  Captain  Mason  was  very  mnch  dis})leased,  and  took  an 
abrupt  departure.  Three  days  later  the  Connecticut  General  Court 
issued  an  order  for  Mr.  Pynchon's  presence  at  the  next  session.  A 
regular  trial  followed  upon  very  serious  charges.    The  (General  Court 


SPRINGFIELD,    1036-1SS6.  29 


of  Connecticut,  iit  that  time,  was  not  a  well-detined  body.  It  was 
duriuo-  the  transition  from  a  provisional  to  a  constitutional  existence. 
The  court  consisted  of  magistrates,  assistants  or  connnissioners,  and 
town  conmiittees  or  deputies.  Connnissioners  were  at  once  assigned 
to  hear  the  case,  and  the  founder  of  Springtield,  with  several  wit- 
nesses and  Ivev.  George  .Aloxon  iis  his  counsel,  put  in  a  full  defence. 
Mr.  1^3^nclion  Avas  completely  taken  aback  at  the  spirit  and  extent  of 
the  charges.  It  was  an  indictment  of  his  ver}^  manhood.  He  was 
represented  as  one  who  had  actually  traded  on  the  extremities  and 
privations  of  the  lower  towns.  These  charges  were,  in  brief,  (1)  that 
he  had  deliberately  raised  the  price  of  corn  as  between  him  and 
Connecticut,  and  was  holding  the  Indians  to  their  bargains,  all  to  his 
private  gain  ;  that  (2)  he  refused  to  lend  a  canoe  to  a  AVoronoco 
Indian,  who  was  under  contract  with  Captain  iMason  to  t^ake  corn 
down  the  river:  thaf  (3)  he  kept  the  Agawam,  Woronoco,  and 
Konotuck  Indians  under  abject  fear  of  him,  that  he  might  be  con- 
sidered the  great  English  sachem  of  the  Connecticut  valley:  and, 
finally,  that  (4)  he  induced  certain  Alohawk  runners  to  sell  him  some 
l)eaver  skins,  which  were  sent  by  3Iohawk  chiefs  to  the  Connecticut 
authorities  as  presents  and  assurances  of  good-will. 

As  to  the  great  and  oversliadowing  charge  of  dishonorable  and  un- 
becoming speculation,  it  will  be  well  to  note  more  particularly  the 
condition  of  Agawam  in  the  spring  of  1038.  The  five  hundred 
bushels  that  Mr.  Pynchon  had  contracted  for  with  the  Indians  was 
not  above  Agawam's  demands,  and  therefore  there  was  no  chance 
to  speculate.  In  an  argument,  written  out  after  the  trial,  Mr. 
Pynchon  said  that  very  little  would  be  left  after  he,  Mr._  Moxon, 
Smith,  and  others  on  the  street  had  been  supplied.  And,  moreover, 
the  distress  at  Agawam  was  as  great  as  it  was  down  the  river.  Wit- 
ness this  testimony  of  William  Pynchon  :  — 

In  regard  to  the  great  straits  the  whole  population  was  in.  both  of  persons  & 
cattle,  for  2  or  :3  months  together:  The  wants  of  the  Thuitation  were  such,  that 


30  SPRINGFIELD,    1 636- 188  6. 


som  were  forced  to  give  malt  to  piggs  to  save  their  lives,  and  those  that  had 
som  English  meale,   &  Avould  have  kept  it,  were  faine  to  spend  it  for  want  of 
corne,  &  to  give  som  of  It  also  to  preserve  the  life  of  swine,  &  3  or  4  were 
in  Consultation  to  leave  the  Plantation  for  a  while,  to  earne  their  bread  else- 
where, till  corne  might  be  had  heere.     Some  Weomcn  gave  their  poultry  and 
swine  divers  times    English  graine,   intended  only  for  seed,  &  the  i)oorer  sort 
professed  tliat  they  desired  the  price  might  be  raised,  that  they  might  hav  corne, 
&  they  professed  it  would  be  noe  burden  to  them  soe  they  might  have  it  at  any 
reasonable  price,— yea,  though  it  were  at  G  shilHngs  a  bushell.     Mr.  Pinchons 
wants  were  often  soe  great,  that  divers  times  he  hath  not  had  half  a  bushell  of 
corne    in    his  house  for  his  family  &    cattell,   &  when  a  Bushell  or  lesse  hath 
ben  brought  in   to  trade,   he  hath  as  much  prized    God's  mercy  &   providence 
therein,  and  ben  as  glad  of  it,  as  at  other  times  of  20  Bushells.  &  the  truth  is 
that   all   the  while    the    Indians    were  willing    enough,    to    trade,  if   they  might 
have  had  their  price  amended.     But  they  would  not  because  Mr.  Pinchon  refused 
to  give  them  the  price  they  asked,  and  as  they  hav  the  years  before  &  If  I  say  I 
did  chiefly  forbeare  for  the  publike  good,  I  iy  not :  ray  conscience  before  God 
beares  me  witnesse.     Yea.  though    my  family  did  dayly  urge  me  to  raise  the 
price,  partly  in  mercy  to  my  Cattle,  &  partly  to  save  their  lives,  they  dayly  told 
me  that  I  had  lost  some  cattle  already,  and  I  was  shure  to  loose  more  if  some 
course  was  not  taken  to  get  them  corne,  &  I  found  their  word  true  to  my  Cost. 
Alsoe,  my  wife,  Avalking  more  amongst  my  Cattle  than  I  did,  professed  yt  It  Avas 
her  dayly  grief  to  see  them  in  that  poore  starveing  condition  for  the  want  of 
corne,  and  did  dayly  urge  me  to  raise  the  price  (in  pitty  to  the  Cattell),  whatever 
it  might  cost.     Yea,  at  that  time,  I  wrote  the  letter  for  advice  about  riseing  the 
price,  my  family,  cattle,  &  Nighbors,  had  spent  our  former  supply,  &  I  then  was 
hopelesse  for  the  500  Bushells.     And  whereas,  I  depended  on  the  payment  of 
that  before,  now  my  hopes  were  like  to  a  spider's  webb.     Therefore  I  wrote  for 
counsell,   wliat  course  I  should  take  with  those  Indians.     ...     I  neglected 
myne  owne  cattle,  &  family,  &  suffered  that  loss  w^h  mought  have  been  holpeu 
by  God's  blessing. 

As  for  the  trial  before  the  coininissioners,  under  order  of  tb,e  Con- 
necticut General  Court,  Mr.  Pynchon  was  surprised  to  find  that  the 
principal  witnesses,  besides  Captain  Mason  himself,  were  the  very 
Agawam  Indians  with  whom  he  had  negotiated  for  the  live  hun- 
dred   bushels  of    corn.      Mr.    Pynchon  might  well    have  felt  great 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6.  31 


concern  when    he  looked    upon    these    natives,    for  they   were  only 
too  anxious  to  do  anything    to   be   relieved  of    their  bargain  with 

him. 

The  chief  accusation  in  reference  to  the  natives  was  that  Mr.  Pyn- 
chon  kept  them  in  continual  fear,  and  the  commissioners,  in  order  to 
test  the  matter,  did  what  Mason  had  asked  Pynchon  to  do  at  Aga- 
^y^ni,  —  desired  verbal   assurances  that  he  was  not  angry   with  the 
Indians.     Pynchon,  seeing  that  such  a  declaration  by  him  might  be 
interpreted  by  the  Indians  as  a  release  ivoiw  their  bargain,  which  they 
had  failed  to  keep,  objected  so  to  do  until  the  debt  had  been  fully 
reaffirmed.     After  some  delay,  an  appeal  was  taken  from  the  com- 
missioners to  the   General  Court,  and  the    point  argued,  as  would 
appear,  by  Mr.  Talcott,  a  member  of  the  lower  house.     The  court 
sustained  Mr.  Pynchon's  appeal,  but  the  commissioner  who  was  push- 
ing the  matter  was   offended  at  this  episode,  and,  as  Mr.  Pynchon 
subsequently  said,  repressed  his  feelings  ''  with  an  hy  offended  spirit, 
&  to  the  changing  of  the  forme  of  his  visage."     After  it  had  been 
explained  to  the  Indians  that  the  five  hundred  bushels  must  be  paid, 
Mr.    Pynchon   expressed  his  good-will    and  cordial   feeling  to    the 
knot  of  dusky  savages. 

The  next  point  involving  the  Indians  taken  up  by  the  commission- 
ers was  the  charge  that  Mr.  Pynchon  bought  of  Mohawk  runners 
beaver  intended  as  presents  to  the  authorities  at  Hartford,  or,  to  use 
the  ancient  words  of  the  charge,  "the  English  Sachims  in  the 
River."  Mr.  Haynes  had  reminded  Mr.  Pynchon  that  the  intended 
gifts  had  been  spoken  of  to  him,  and  this  was  made  to  appear  as  an 
aggravation  of  Mr.  Pynchon's  offence.  We  give  Mr.  Pynchon's 
defence  upon  this  point  in  full,  as  it  is  an  interesting  statement,  inde- 
pendent of  its  immediate  connection  :  — 

M'".  Pinchon  answers  that  when  My.  Haynes  first  told  him  of  it  that  he 
doubted  it  was  but  the  givehig  of  the  teUing  of  such  a  thing  as  their  dayly  prac- 
tice is,  for  any  advantage  of  gayne.     He  could  not  Imagin  that  it  was  come  as 


^^  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6. 


gift,  because  they  mentioned  noe  sucli  thing,  hut  oaleil  for  trade.     Be.iiles  it  h 
their  onlenary  time  in  the  time  of  snow  i„  ,|:e  beginning  of  Winter  t„  trade  their 
skmns  &  a  greate  parte  of  this  «-a.,  sueli  skhins  and  not  «tt  for  a  .ift  to  ..rate 
Sachims.     r  was  not  at  home  when  they  came.  &  thev  were  in  trade  before  I 
came  home.     I  repeat  that  a  gift  sent  to  greate  Sachim»  should  be  otfered    .>■.  to 
begg  It.  is  not  honorable.     He  that  told  this  to  W.  Haynes  was  one  of  them  Jhat 
brought  the  7  Sachims  locks.  &  then  he  was  first  at  my  house,  &  there  was  alsoe  M' 
Ludlow.  &  they  had  an  Iiiterpretter.  .nd  all  that  they  then  said  was  this  that  the 
Mohawks  did  much  love  the  English ;  an,i  would  be  in  friendshipp  wi,h  then,    & 
destroy  all  Pequotts  that  came  in  their  way.  but  mentioned  noe  smd,  ,nft    it  all 
neither  could  they  in  likelyhood  cpect  such  a  thing  from  the  .Mowhake  Sachims' 
because  these  IVquott  Sachims  were   killed    2   days  journey  on   this  side   thj 
ilowhakes  at  Paquiany,  and  it  was  but  3  days  pas,  ,ha,  thev  were  killed,  &  for 
thein  ,0  go  to  tlieir  Sachims  2  days,  &  bring  such  a  Message,  &  then  ,ou  luust 
ad   4    days  more    to    come   hither,  .loth   much   overgoe   that   time   of  n   rtavs 
"herein  they  kille.l  these  Pec,u„t,s,  &  iudee.l  thcy  were  chieflv  .Mohegans  that  did 
the  act.  &  the  Mowhaks  had  the  least  hand  in  it.  &  had  but  the  least  part  of  the 
l>-ey.  &  therefor  it  is  most  likely,  that  their  be,er  promised,  was  but  as  their  or- 
denary  manner  is,  when  they  would  get  anything,  to  gi,e  the  tellin„  of  some 
pleasin^r  thing.  ^         • 

It  will  not  pas.s  uuuotioed  that  iu  .n-cler  to  make  a  case  o„t  aoainst 
Fvnchou  they  had  goue  back  «evei,  or  ejoht  mo.ith.s  ai„I  takeir.tp  a 
matter  utterly  foreig„  to  the  ease,  except  as  it  was  a,t  assault  upou 
Mr.  Pyuchon's  general  character.  But  his  accusers  did  more  ■  thev 
used  hearsay  evidence,  pieke.l  up  ou  Agawa.u  street.  ••  I  am  ready 
to  take  tm  oath  of  the  Lord  hereto."  writes  Mr.  Pvud.ou,  i„  hi's 
"Apology,"  iu  reference  to  tlie  charge  of  mouev-makiug,  -au.l  i„ 
cases  as  materiall  as  this,  wliere  there  is  but  onlv  surmises,  aud  uoe 
proofe,  eau  be  had,  au  oath  of  tlie  I.onI,  must  .letermiue  tlie  ctmse 
Exodus,  22.   10.  11." 

But  we  will  uot  linger  over  tile  details  of  this  trial.  Fiuallv 
the  coramissiouers,  having  heard  Ma.sou.  the  lu.liaus,  and  the  rest' 
called  iu  Rev.  Thomas  Hooker  aud  liev.  Samuel  .Stoue  as  experts  upoti 
the  ethical  question  of  Mr.  Pynchon's  conduct.  Thev  b.,th  sai.l  tnost 
eniphat.cally  that  Pyncliou  had  broken  his  oath.     Mr.  Pvnchou  rose 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  33 

and  explained  his  mode  of  bargaiiiiDg  with  the  Indians  without  ad- 
vancing wampum,  as  Mason  did  at  Woronoeo,  claiming  that  "  8  sixes 
downe  &  6  sixes  to  his  house  was  an  equall  proportion  to  alure  them." 
Mr.  Hooker  replied  that  "  that  offer  was  as  good  as  nothing,  for  Mr. 
Pjnchon  knew  that  the  Indians  being  afrayd  of  him,  'would  not 
bring  downe  any  corne,  but  that  he  should  have  all  the  trade  to  him- 
selfe,  &  have  all  the  corne  in  his  own  hands,  and  bring  all  that  water 
to  his  own  mill,  and  so  rack  the  country  at  his  pleasure." 

This  extraordinary  conclusion  took  Mr.  Pynchon  completely 
aback.  To  be  accused  by  a  warrior  like  Captain  Mason  mattered 
little,  for  a  soldier's  ways  are  professionally  stiff ;  but  to  be  con- 
demned by  the  famous  ministers.  Hooker  and  Stone,  was  quite  an- 
other thing.  One  can  well  understand  the  words  of  the  Pynchon 
''Apology":  ''To  this  Mr.  Pynchon  was  silent,  bemg  grieved  at 
such  an  hard  answ^er." 

The  commission  found  Mr.  Pynchon  guilty ;  and  they  showed  no 
little  prejudice,  even  construing  the  defendant's  appeal  to  the  court 
as  to  the  Indians  an  evidence  of  a  guilt}^  spirit. 

The  Pynchon  trial  and  conviction  were  probably  during  the  last 
week  in  March,  1638.  A  session  of  the  General  Court,  at  Hart- 
ford, was  held  April  5,  Mr.  P3mchou  still  sitting  in  the  upper  house, 
and  Moxon  and  Burr,  representing  Agawam,  in  the  lower  house,  or 
the  "  town  committees,"  as  they  were  called.  Either  a  remarkable 
amount  of  business  was  gone  over  that  day,  or  the  clerk  neglected 
to  add  the  dates  of  the  various  orders  of  the  session.  Here  is  the 
order,  recorded  after  the  commission  in  the  P^-nchon  case  had  re- 
ported :  — 

Whereas  there  was  some  eomplainte  made  against  M"".  Willm  Pincheon  of 
Agawam  for  that  as  was  conceived  &  uppon  p'f^  app'ed  he  was  not  so  carefull  to 
p'mote  the  pubUque  good  in  the  trade  of  Corne  as  hee  was  bounde  to  doe.  It  is 
ordered  the  saide  M''.  Pincheon  shall  w"^  all  convenient  speede  pay  as  a  fine  for 
his  soe  failinge  40*^^  bushells  of  Indian  Corne  for  the  pnblicque  &  the  saide  Corne 
to  be  deliv'ed  to  the  Treasurer  to  be  disposed  of  as  shallbe  thought  meete. 


34  SPRINGFIELD,     1636-18S6. 


This  was  pretty  severe,  and  while  the  court  was  gracious  enough 
to  continue  to  give  Mr.  Pyuchou  the  monopoly  of  the  beaver  trade 
at  Agawam,  this  fine  was  a  crushing  blow  to  Pynchon's  influ- 
ence in  Connecticut  affairs.  The  Captain  Mason  theory  of  dealing 
with  the  Indians,  namely,  wampum  in  one  hand  and  the  sword  in 
the  other,  inspired  the  following  order,  also  passed  upon  this  same 
5th  of  April :  — 

It  is  ordered  that  there  shalbe  sixe  sent  to  Warranocke  Indians  to  declare 
unto  them  that  wee  have  a  desire  to  speak  with  them,  to  knowe  the  reasons  why 
they  saide  they  are  affraide  of  us,  and  if  they  M-ill  not  come  to  us  willingly  then 
to  compell  them  to  come  by  violence,  and  they  may  have  2  of  the  English  as 
pleadges  in  the  meane  time  and  to  trade  Avith  them  for  corne  if  they  can.  It  is 
ordered  that  Captaine  Mason,  Thomas  Stanton,  Jeremy  Adams,  John  Gibbes, 
Searjeant  Starnes  and  Thomas  Merricke,  and  if  Thomas  Merricke  be  gone  to 
Aggawam  then  Captaine  Mason  to  take  another  Avhom  he  please,  shall  goe  in  the 
saide  service ;  and  if  hee  see  cause  to  leave  hostages  hee  may ;  if  hee  see  cause 
to  goe  to  Aggawam  he  ma\'. 

The  court  ought  not  to  have  been  at  such  a  loss  to  explain  the 
trepidation  of  the  Indians.  The  fear  admitted  in  the  above  order 
was  probably  traced  to  a  previous  commission  given  to  Captain  Mason 
to  "  go  to  Aagawam  and  treate  with  the  Indians  of  Waronocke  con- 
cerning the  tribute  towards  the  charges  of  o'  warres,  to  the  value  of 
one  fathamof  Wampom  a  man.  Nawattocke  a  fatham  and  a  quarter, 
Pacomtuckett  one  fatham  and  a  quarter." 

Here  is  a  question  of  no  small  moment.  What  right  had  the 
English  to  levy  a  war  tribute  upon  the  native  tribes,  even  admitting 
(which  was  not  the  fact)  that  the  Indians  in  question  were  inside  the 
boundaries  of  their  jmisdiction  ?  We  know  what  Mr.  Pynchon 
thought  upon  this  matter,  and  can  well  understand  why  he  was  not 
commissioned  to  collect  the  tril)ute.  He  would  have  refused,  as 
he  subsequently  refused  to  cross  the  line  of  Indian  rights  when 
called  upon  so  to  do  by  the  Massachusetts  authorities.  And  it  may 
not  be  out  of  place  to  anticipate  events  enough  to  quote  from  Mr. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  35 


Pynchon's  letter  addressed  to  Gov.  John  Winthrop,  Boston,  and 
dated  "  this  5  of  the  o'"  1648."  Winthrop  and  four  magistrates  had 
made  a  requisition  upon  jNIagistrate  Pynchon  for  the  surrender  of 
three  Indians  who  had  committed  nuirder  at  Quabaug  (Brookfiehl) 
and  had  fled  to  Nonotuck  (Northampton) .  The  Indian  apostle,  Eliot, 
liad  also  been  induced  to  recommend  the  requisition,  and  to  follow  it 
up  with  another  letter  to  Mr.  Pynchon,  who  thus  replied  to  the  gov- 
ernor :  — 

But  if  thinges  be  well  examined  :  I  apprehend  that  neether  the  murtliered 
are  y  subjects  nor  yet  y'^  murtherers  within  y  jurisdiction  &  I  grant  they  are  all 
within  y  line  of  y''  pattent,  but  yet  you  cannot  say  tliat  therefore  they  are  y'-  sul)- 
jects  nor  yet  within  y  Jurisdiction  untill  they  have  fully  subjected  themselves  to 
y  government  (av^'i  I  know  they  have  not)  &  untill  you  have  bought  their  land  : 
until  this  be  done  they  must  be  esteemed  as  an  Independent  free  people. 

This  was  bold  enough  on  ]Mr.  Pynchon's  part,  but  it  was  a  doc- 
trine upon  which  he  had  acted  for  twelve  years,  and  (to  return 
to  the  controversy  of  1638)  we  do  not  need  to  be  told  that  Mr. 
Pynchon  did  not  go  among  the  Indian  villages  collecting  wampum 
to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  Pequot  war. 

Mr.  Pynchon  was  present  April  5,  when  the  General  Court  fined 
him  the  forty  bushels  of  corn,  but  there  is  no  evidence  that  he  ever 
again  attended  the  Hartford  court.  He  certainly  was  not  reelected 
on  the  January  following,  and  Agawam  was  not  included  in  the  Con- 
necticut constitution  adopted  January  14,  1639,  which  is  so  famous 
as  the  supposed  first  written  constitution. 

But  the  break  from  Connecticut  was  not  precipitated  beyond  re- 
covery probal^ly  until  another  very  disagreeable  chapter  had  been 
added  to  the  story  of  Connecticut  and  Agawam.  Mr.  Pynchon,  after 
his  conviction,  hastily  prepared  his  "  Apology,"  which  was  circulated 
among  the  valley  towns.  This  "Apology"  is  a  complete  defence 
against  dishonest  speculation,  written  in  strong  English,  with  occa- 
sional passages  of  graphic  relief,  and  is,  all  in  all,  an  invaluable  sur- 


36  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-2886. 

vival  of  seventeenth  century  composition.  We  are  inclined  to  believe 
that  the  "  Apology  "  was  written  at  Hartford  because  the  court  author- 
ized John  Haynes  and  Thomas  Welles  to  prepare  an  answer,  which 
they  did  in  a  communication  dated  April  IS.  This  also  is  too  inter- 
esting a  bit  of  controversial  literature  to  omit,  and,  as  it  has  escaped 
the  notice  of  historians,  extracts  are  here  2;iven  :  — 


M^-  PiNCHON 

Your  apollogy  or  clef enc  av<='^  you  published  to  tlie  A-iew  of  the  cuiitry  to  cleare 
your  self  and  to  condemne  the  proceedings  of  the  Court,  as  injurious  against  you, 
was  lately  presented  into  our  hands,  in  the  which  although  you  seeke  to  vindicate 
your  owne  creditt  to  the  dishonor  and  wronginge  the  Court,  a  course  very  of- 
fensive and  far  unbeseeminge  on  of  your  quality,  therefore  as  both  rule  &  reason 
require  you  should  eyther  see  your  mistake  or  make  your  chardge  good  if  you 
think  meet  theirfore  to  that  purpose  to  repayer  to  Court,  you  may  their  receave 
a  full  answer  to  what  you  please  to  offer  therein.  .  .  .  You  therein  [that  is 
in  the  Apology]  say  you  know  no  breach  of  oath  or  order  in  anything  you 
did  about  the  matter  of  corne  w^h  you  thus  prove,  because  you  did  nothinge 
therein  Avithout  counsell  and  advice  of  Mr  Moxon  and  your  sonn  Smith,  concluding 
thence  that  he  w^i^  counsells  witli  Mr  Moxon  and  your  sonn  Smith  can  neither 
break  oath  or  order  .  .  .  but  the  Court  did  then  &  can  still  make  it  appear 
that  you  transgressed  both.  .  .  You  declare  in  your  writinge  tliat  you  be- 
lieved the  Indians  feared  you  no  more  than  they  feared  their  owne  shadow,  and 
you  report  in  your  house  that  you  did  and  must  keep  them  in  feare  :  or  their  is 
no  dealinge  with  them;  your  practice  also  declare  the  same,  when  in  your  owne 
cause  you  did  arrest,  impryson  &  force  to  composity  one.  Witness  the  party  who 
stole  the  cloath,  wherein,  hy  the  way,  we  cannot  forgett  the  course  you  tooke  in 
contriving  your  private  gayne  contractinge  first  for  Avorapom  for  your  cloath,  and 
then  agreeinge  to  receave  corne  for  your  wampom  that  when  you  should  trade 
corne  to  your  customers  you  might  requier  the  greater  price,  wherein  if  the 
wampum  had  not  fell  in  betwixt  the  corne  &  the  cloath  (though  but  by  way  of  at- 
tempt only)  you  Avould  have  wanted  that  way  of  gayne.  You  then  charge  the 
Capten  that  he  requested  you  to  drive  a  bargaine  av^'^  the  Indians  for  liim  and 
in  ansAver  to  that  you  stuff  up  a  great  part  of  your  work  av^i^  he  confessett  he 
never  propounded  to  you  neither  neede  he  soe  to  doe,  av^'^  Avas  also  contrary  to 
the  commissione  given  him  from  the  Court,  but  he  sayth  his  only  request  to  you 
was  to  take  of  the  feare  from  the  Indians.      .     .     .     And  Lastly  :  your"  tennfold 


if'f 


llllf!l|!| 


38  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


Reasons,  to  prove  the  Bever  brought  from  the  Mowhakes  or  their  confederates 
could  not  in  any  coulor  be  a  present  sent  to  the  Sachems  uppon  the  River,  are 
all  to  short,  for  they  have  since  confessed  they  sent  it  to  that  purpose ;  and  to 
make  it  really  appeare  they  have  since  taken  away  the  life  of  on  of  the  parties 
that  should  have  presented  it  for  falsifyinge  their  trust;  and  whereas  you  their 
say  a  great  pt  of  it  was  summer  bever  &  little  worth,  unlike  and  unraeete  for  a 
present,  you  yourself  formerly  affirmed  it  was  the  best  parcel  you  bought  for  a 
longe  time.  For  your  complainte  of  famine  and  scarcety  your  Bretheren  pitty 
you.  not  that  they  conceave  your  distress  have  been  great,  but  for  your  weake 
and  unapt  expressions  sayinge  you  weare  forced  to  give  your  Eughsh  graine 
corne  meale  &  mault  to  your  hoggs,  henns  &  cattle,  especially  in  such  case  when 
you  presumed  divers  hundred  bushels  of  Indian  was  at  hand  for  supply. 

We  will  here  leave  this  controversy,  as  it  comes  up  later,  ouly  re- 
marking, the  fear  to  trade  corn  with  Mason  and  the  wholesome  fear 
of  the  Agawam  settlement  that  would  prevent  an  outbreak  were  two 
very  different  things  indeed.  Pynchon  was  condemned  because  he 
was  thought  to  have  selfishly  raised  the  price  of  corn,  and  yet  Captain 
Mason  was  counted  a  hero  l)ecause  two  months  later  he  chartered  an 
Indian  canoe  fleet,  bearing  corn,  for  which  he  paid  twelve  shillings 
the  bushel,  and  was  compelled  to  ride  in  the  canoes  in  order  to 
make  sure  that  the  corn  was  delivered. 

There  is  a  direct  issue  between  Pynchon  and  Mason,  as  their  tes- 
timony shows,  and  Mr.  Pynchon,  after  contradicting  him  point  blank, 
and  producing  Rev.  Mr.  Moxon  and  others  as  corroborating  wit- 
nesses, says:  ''Now  if  these  things  may  not  Justly  Question  the 
purport  of  the  Captain's  oath,  I  leave  to  the  Judgment  of  wise 
men." 


CHAPTER    III. 

1638-1639. 

The  Connecticut  Jurisdiction  over  Agawam.  —  The  Massachusetts  Boundaiy  Line.— 
Rev.  Thomas  Hooker's  Spirited  Letter.  —  House  built  for  Mr.  Moxon.  —  Allotments 
of  Land.  —  Agawam's  Act  of  Secession.  —  Sundry  Town  Laws,  —  Strangers  ex- 
cluded. —  Wages  of  Laborers  regulated.  — The  Town  Brook, —Woodcock  vs.  Cable. 
—  Ancient  Lawsuits.  —  A  Jury  of  Six,  —  Mr.  Moxon  in  Court, 

The  serious  differences  between  Agawam  and  the  towns  lower 
down  the  river  l^rought  our  settlers  face  to  face  with  the  stern  ques- 
tion of  secession  from  the  Connecticut  jurisdiction.  The  Hartford 
General  Court  either  held  its  authority  to  govern  the  valley  towns 
from  the  Massachusetts  Bay  concessions,  or  by  virtue  of  an  assumed 
right  of  self-government.  In  either  case  Agawam  could  be  justi- 
fied in  returning  to  Massachusetts.  The  conditions  at  Hartford  were 
intolerable  to  Agawam.  Pynchon  had  been  a  trader  from  the  start, 
and  was  so  recognized  at  the  Bay.  His  purse  was  always  opened 
when  prospecting  expeditions  were  proposed,  and  prominent  men, 
both  at  the  Bay  and  in  Connecticut,  knew  the  generous  extent  of  his 
personal  loans.  He  was  one  of  the  few  rich  men  of  that  day  who 
embarked  to  New  England,  and  he  naturally  had  been  chosen 
treasurer  of  Massachusetts.  When  he  settled  in  the  Connecticut 
valley  with  his  handful  of  intrepid  associates,  it  w^as  but  natural  for 
him  to  expect  the  handling  of  the  corn  and  beaver  of  this  section. 
No  one  had  before  accused  him  of  a  failure  to  keep  his  promises,  or 
of  making  a  penny  at  the  expense  of  the  public.  The  charges,  added 
to  the  mam  one,  of  getting  a  corner  on  grain  (to  use  modern 
phraseology),  demonstrated  beyond  a  doubt  a  disposition  at  Hart- 
ford to  limit  Agawam's  influence  as  much  as  possible  ;  and  as  Captain 


40 


SPRINGFIELD,    163G-1S86. 


<:k 


Mason  not  only  was  privileged  to  pass  up  the  river  and  trade,  with  a 
troop  of  armed  men  at  his  back  to  coerce 
the  Indians,  and  to  visit  Agawam  ten  times 
a  year  and  drill  the  training-band,  it  is  not 
to  be  wondered  at  that  secession  was  the 
unanimous  voice  of  the  plantation. 
But  a  formal  withdrawal    from 

.  M  Pinser 

Connecticut  was  a  serious  matter.  ^--^^^^^^ 
Mr.  P^mchon  was  now  a  member  of 
neither  General  Court ;  the  town  was  the 
most  remote  outpost,  with  numerous  In- 
dian tribes  in  the  great  back  country. 
Connecticut  might  refuse  to  allow  Mr. 
Pynchon  to  retain  the  trading-houses 
which  he  had  built  somewhere  about 
Enfield  Falls.  There  is  an  ancient  map 
placing  these  houses  on  the  eastern  bank 
of  the  Connecticut,  opposite  King's 
island,  which  can  be  seen  up  the  river  ^ 
from  the  car  windows  in  crossing  the 
bridge  at  Windsor  Locks.  The  name 
given  on  this  map  is  "  Versche  Riviere," 
or  Fresh  River,  which  was  first  so  called 
by  Adrian  Block,  the  Dutch  voyager  who 
coasted  along  the  sound  in  1(3 1 4 .  Pynchon 
not  only  shipped  freight  in  his  own  sail- 
boats, but  often  sent  goods  to  and  from 
the  valley  in  other  vessels.  It  was  out  of 
the  question  to  send  beaver  overland  to 
the  Bay.     There  was  no  money  in  it. 

No  meeting-house  had  yet  been  built 
at  Agawam.  The  middle  Ferry  lane  (Elm 
street)  was  not  yet  opened.     Tree  stumps 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6.  41 


and  fallen  timber  here  and  there  obstructed  the  one  main  street,  and, 
what  was  more  discouraging,  the  plantation  was  largely  made  up  of 
men  not  destined  to  remain  long.  Fully  one-half  of  the  inhabitants 
of  1638  only  stayed  a  few  years. 

It  will  have  been  noticed  that  Agawam,  unlike  most  of  the  towns 
of  that  day,  w^as  founded  by  a  layman,  —  a  devout  and  well-read 
Christian,  who  could  preach  a  sermon  or  debate  theology  wdth  the 
ablest  divines,  to  be  sure,  but  a  layman  for  all  that ;  and  w^e  can 
quite  understand  that  this  fact  may  have  prejudiced  the  minds  of 
towns  dominated  by  ministers.  Possibl}^  here  lies  the  real  expLana- 
tion  of  the  falling  out  of  Agawam  and  Hartford. 

After  a  thorough  survey  of  the  field  it  was  resolved  to  cut  loose 
from  Connecticut,  and  to  trust  in  the  future.  No  formal  declaration 
was  issued  for  a  time,  but  in  July  the  new^s  of  Agawam's  revolt 
spread  through  New  England.  Shortly  after  the  adjournment  of  tlie 
Connecticut  General  Court  Roger  Ludlow  wrote  to  the  governor  and 
assistants  of  Massachusetts  Bay  that  John  Haynes  and  others  had 
been  appointed  to  confer  with  the  Bay  authorities  on  certain  subjects 
involving  the  mutual  interests  of  the  colonies. 

The  New  England  colonies  w^ere  then  agitating  a  scheme  for  a 
confederation  as  a  means  of  defence  against  the  Dutch  and  other 
enemies  ;  the  threatened' withdrawal  of  Agaw^am  also  had  something 
to  do  with  the  appointment  of  this  commission,  which  reached  the 
Ba}^  in  June  ;  a  long  private  conference  took  place  betw^een  friends 
of  the  two  colonies,  but  no  agreement  w^as  reached.  The  matter 
came  up  at  the  session  of  the  General  Court  held  in  Cambridge,  and 
it  was  voted  ' '  that  so  much  of  the  ry ver  of  Conectecot  as  should  fall 
within  the  line  of  o""  patent  should  continew  under  o""  jurisdiction." 

The  smothered  feeling  of  mutual  suspicion  between  Connecticut 
and  Massachusetts  now  broke  forth.  Perhaps  the  correspondence 
between  Governor  Winthrop,  of  Massachusetts,  and  Rev.  Thomas 
Hooker  will  best  show  forth  the  extent  of  this  colonial  unpleasant- 
ness. 


42  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1S86. 

Mr.  Hooker's  indictment  of  Agawam  was  very  much  in  the  spirit 
of  his  testimon}^  in  the  Pynchon  trial.  He  argued  that  Agawam  had 
continued  to  recognize  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Connecticut  General 
Court  by  sending  "there  for  justice"  an  inhabitant  "in  Agaam 
apprehended  in  some  misdemeanor."     He  continues  :  — 

Yea,  taking  it  for  granted  that  it  is  in  each  inhabitant's  liberty  in  Agawam  to 
choose  his  jnrisdiction  (-which  is  to  me  beyond  question),  if  I  was  there  as  an 
inhabitant,  I  should  judge  myself  bound  in  conscience  to  submit  to  the  juris- 
diction of  this  river,  and  do  believe  I  should  make  a  breach  of  the  eighth  com- 
mand if  I  sliould  otherwise  :  because  in  so  doing  I  should  steal  from  mine  estate, 
in  that  I  should  rush  myself  into  needless  and  endless  inconveniences ;  namely, 
to  cast  myself  into  that  condition  that  for  a  matter  of  five  shillings  (as  the 
case  may  fall  out)  I  should  put  myself  to  unreasonable  charges  and  trouble  to 
seek  for  justice  a  hundred  miles  off  in  the  Avilderness.  If  Mr.  Pynchon  can 
devise  ways  to  make  his  oath  bind  him  when  he  Avill.  and  loosen  him  Avhen  he 
list;  if  he  can  tell  how,  in  faithfulness,  to  engage  himself  in  a  civil  covenant 
and  combination  (for  that  he  did,  by  his  committees  in  their  act)  and  yet  can 
cast  it  aAvay  at  liis  pleasure,  before  he  give  it  sufficient  warrant,  more  than  his 
own  word  and  will,  he  must  find  a  law  in  Agaam  for  it ;  for  it  is  written  in  no 
law  or  gospel  that  ever  I  heard. 

Mr.  Hooker  w^ent  on  to  say  that  Connecticut  Avould  not  trouljle 
itself  very  much  over  the  loss  of  Pynchon,  because  "  we  know  him 
from  the  bottom  to  the  brim,  and  follow  him  in  all  his  proceedings, 
and  trace  him  in  his  priv}^  footsteps  ;  onl}^  we  would  have  him  and 
all  the  world  to  understand  he  doth  not  walk  in  tlie  dark  to  us." 

But  Mr.  Pynchon  did  find  "a  law  iu  Agaam,"  —  a  law  planted 
there  by  the  Massachusetts  colony,  and  by  the  king  of  England  him- 
self. AYe  might  continue  at  great  length  spreading  upon  these  pages 
the  evidences  of  Connecticut's  feeling  toward  Massachusetts.  One 
more  incident  w^ill  serve  our  present  purpose.  At  the  close  of  that 
eventful  year  William  Spencer,  who  had  moved  from  Cambridge  to 
Hartford,  and  had  promised  Governor  Winthrop  to  promote,  if  he 
could,  a  more  cordial  feeling,  wrote  his  Excellency  that  he  had  made 
but  little  progress.     He  added  :  — 


SPRINGFIELD.    1636-1SS6.  43 

I  found  a  prejudese  in  the  spirrits  of  some  men  concerning  yo''  state,  as 
thougli  you  did  not  really  intend  sucli  a  tliinge,  but  only  pretended  it,  w* 
laboured  to  be  at  offe  as  much  as  might  be,  ingadgeing  my  self e  that  for  yo""  state 
m  generall  [Massachusetts]  they  did.  and  doe  as  really  intend  their  good,  as 
anny  of  ther  neighbour  plantacons ;  whereupon  they  propounded  some  reasons  to 
the  contrary,  that  you  only  pretended  and  not  intended  such  a  thing.  One  was 
this,  tliat  not  w^'standing  yoii  had  said  that  God  by  his  providents  had  soe  disposed 
of  it.  that  you  and  the  p'tations  uppon  tliis  river  could  not  bee  one  body;  yet, 
when  it  came  unto  the  isue.  you  would  have  AggaAvame  joyned  unto  you,  or  else 
you  would  not  conclud  of  the  union ;  and  to  that  purpose,  they  say,  you  have 
written  to  dismise  the  same  from  them. 

We  now  have  the  depth  of  the  alienation  of  Connecticut,  and  it 
had  the  serious  effect  of  postponing  the  project  of  a  New  England 
Confederation  for  some  years. 

Pending  the  settlement  of  the  great  question  of  Agawam's  politi- 
cal status,  the  little  plantation  did  not  allow  local  affairs  to  go  hy 
default.  There  had  been  several  additions  to  the  community.  Rev. 
]Mr.  Moxon  had  been  provided  with  a  generous  portion  of  lands  upon 
the  condition  of  permanent  settlement,  and  in  the  spring  of  1638  it 
had  been  voted  that  the  expenses  of  fencing  his  home-lot  on  the 
main  street  and  of  building  his  house  should  fall  in  part  upon  those 
who  might  join  the  plantation  thereafter.  Upon  the  last  leaf  of  the 
account  of  the  tirst  town-meeting,  but  evidently  written  later,  appear 
some  specifications  for  a  structure  which  we  take  to  be  the  minister's 
house,  erected  about  this  time  (corner  Vernon  and  Main).  It  was  as 
follows  :  — 


ffor  a  frame  of  a  howse 
35  foote  longe  and  15  foote 
wide  w"i  a  porch  fixe 
foote  out  &  7  foote  wide 
wf'i  a  study  over  head 
w^'^  stayrs  into  cellar  & 
chamber  making  bords 
&  laving  bords  for 


£       s       d 
18     00     00 


44 


SPRTXG  FIELD,    I636-18S6. 


lower  roomes  w'^i 
duble  chininys  y^ 
sides  of  y''  cellar 
Planked  at 

to  Good 


Burr 


£       s       d 
18     00     00 


for  the  thatchinge  of  y<^ 
howse  to  John  Alline  he 
to  undertak  the  getting 
of  y^  thatch  and 
all  other  things  belonging 
to  it  wth  lathing  & 
nayls  only  y^  cari- 
adge  of  thatch  excepted. 


3     00     00 


for  y^  sawinge  of  all  y*^ 
boards  &  Slitworke  4  locks 
Av**^  nayls  &  hooks  &  hinges 
for  ye  doares  at 

to  John  Cable 


£      s       d 
1 1     00     00 


for  y^  dawbing  of  y''  howse 

6  chimnys  underpniing  y^" 
fame  making  y*^  stack  &  oven 

7  foote  high  w^'^  laths 
&  nayls  at 

to  Henry  Smith 


8     00     00 


There  was  a  rating  of  £40  agreed  iipou  Jan.  13,  1639,  to  meet  a 
portion  of  the  expense  of  the  minister's  residence,  and  we  may  infer 
that  the  above  specifications  were  the  ones  followed.  Here  is  the 
record  :  — 

The  disbursements  of  the  sd  40£  per  contra  as  foHoweth  :  — 


John  Searle 
Thomas  Horton 


£     s.     d. 
I     00     00 


SPRINGFIELD,    1030-1 SS6.  45 


£ 

s 

d 

Thomas  Mirack 

00 

00 

John  Leonard 

12 

00 

Robart  Aslily 

00 

00 

John  Woodcock 

12 

00 

Richard  Everit 

10 

00 

Jolm  Alhne 

00 

00 

John  Burt 

10 

00 

Henry  Smitli 

00 

00 

Jehu  Burr 

00 

00 

WilHam  Pynchon 

21 

00 

00 

John  Cable 

12 

00 

41 

16 

00 

John  Cable  paid  AVoodcock's  subscription,  Henry  Smith  paid 
Allen's,  and  Mr.  Pynchon  paid  Burt's. 

There  were  at  least  fifteen  men  in  Agawam  at  this  time,  neither 
Mr.  Moxon  nor  Henr}^  Gregory  appearing  in  the  above  list.  The 
new  names  are  Mirrick,  Leonard,  Ashley,  Allen,  and  Burt.  As  the 
old  names  in  the  list  of  rates  are  in  the  order  of  the  house-lots,  the 
others  probably  are  also,  which  is  corroborated  by  a  vote  passed  in 
September.  1638,  as  follows  :  — 

There  is  granted  to  John  Searle  by  y^  consent  of  the  rest  of  the  inhabitants 
an  house  Lott  of  8  rod  broade  &  in  length  from  the  brooke  to  the  greate  river  w^h 
lyes  neere  y*^  pyne  swampe  w'^  y'"  meddow  before  his  lott  of  the  same  breadth 
y'  Ms  house  lot  is.  Next  to  y*"  Lott  of  John  Searle  upwards  lyes  the  Lott  of 
Thomas  Horton  8  rod  in  breadth  w"^  the  meadow  over  agaynst  it  of  y^  same 
breadth  &  \^  length  of  it  as  the  former,  also  on  y^'  other  side  of  Conecticot 
river  over  agaynst  the  s'^^  lott  is  granted  him  a  lott  of  meddowes  of  8  rod  broade 
and  80  rod  in  length  reserving  through  y^  &  all  other  lotts  there  a  cart  way  of 
2  rod  breadth  wher  it  may  be  seene  convenient. 

And  again  :  — 

It  is  agreed  y*  John  Searle  and  Rich:  Everit  shall  measure  out  tAventy  fowre 
acres  of  mowing  marish  ground  afore  y*^  house  of  M^   William  Pynchon  and 


46  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


soe  much  upland  ground  adjoyning  as  shall  make  his  howse  lott  wth  ye  gfi 
marish  fifty  and  f owre  acres  according  to  an  order  in  ye  first  devission  of  howse 
Lotts. 

There  was  also  granted  to  William  Pynchon  "  a  Lott  of  upland 
ground  adjoyninge  to  y^  mill  of  ten  acres  and  alsoe  Seaven  acres 
more  in  Lew  of  the  marish  ground  y^  is  before  every  mans  Lott  it  is 
alsoe  agreed  y'  this  Lott  is  to  lye  in  Breadth  from  the  mill  river 
upwards  in  breadth  twenty  rodd  and  in  length  upwards  by  y^'  mill 
river  till  the  number  of  y*^  acres  be  up."  The  vote  for  a  meeting- 
house lot  was  passed  January  16,   1639:  — 

It  is  ordered  that  the  three  rod  of  ground  y'  lyes  betwixt  John  Woodcock's 
pall  and  Goodman  Grigory's  Lott  shall  be  appropriated  2  rod  of  it  to  Goodman 
Grigory  and  one  rod  of  it  to  Rich:  Everitt  reserving  40  rod  for  a  place  for  a 
meeting-howse,  wcii  is  to  be  allowed  out  of  Goodman  Grigory's  Lott. 

It  was  necessary,  from  the  amount  of  unapportioned  common 
land,  to  devote  much  time  to  its  regulation.  The  rich  meadows  on 
the  west  side  of  the  Connecticut,  from  opposite  the  upper  ferry  to 
the  present  York  street,  were  first  devoted  to  grass  and  planting  only. 
The  Agawam  river  at  that  time  had  but  one  mouth,  which  emptied 
into  the  Connecticut  near  the  South-end  bridge.  Each  inhabitant 
was  permitted,  after  harvest  time  (November),  to  '*  put  over  horses 
cowes  or  younge  cattell  on  y^  other  side  of  y^  river." 

But  the  time  had  come  for  Agawam  to  put  forth  a  formal  decla- 
ration as  to  its  allegiance.  This  important  document  was  drawn  up 
eleven  months  after  the  Pynchon  trial,  the  date  given  below  being 
Old  Style  :  — 

feebruary  the  14^^,  1638  We  the  Inhabitants  of  Agaam  uppon  Quinnettecot, 
takings  into  consideration  the  manifould  inconveniences  that  may  fall  uppon  us 
for  want  of  some  magistracy  amonge  us  :  Being  noAv  by  Godes  provedence  fallen 
into  the  line  of  the  Massachusets  Jurisdiction  :  &  it  being  farr  of  to  repayer 
thither  in  such  cases  of  justice  as  may  often  fall  out  amonge  us   doe  therefore 


SPRIXGFIELD,    2636-1886.  47 

tliiuke  it  meete  by  a  generall  consent  &  vote  to  ordaine  till  we  receive  further 
direction  from  the  Generall  Court  convening  in  the  Massachuset  Bay  Mr.  William 
Pynchon  to  execute  the  office  of  a  magistrate  in  this  our  plantation  of  Agaam 
viz:   [etc.]. 

The  usual  magistrate's  powers  were  giyeo  Mr.  Pynchon,  inchiding 
authority  to  summon  juries  of  six  instead  of  twelve  for  small  offences, 
pending  any  action  that  might  be  made  at  Boston. 

The  boundary  lines  of  the  plantation  had  been  verified  meantime, 
a  committee  having  reported  in  January  that  the  "bounds  of  y'' 
Plantation  up  the  river  on  y"^  other  side  of  y^  river"  were  "  at  a 
brooke  above  y^  greate  meddowe  w*'^'  is  about  a  qrt  of  a  mile  above 
y^  mouth  of  Chiccapee  river." 

The  first  town  meetings  were  probably  held  in  the  house  of  Mr. 
Pynchon,  as  it  was  the  largest.  This  body  of  local  legislators  is  an 
interesting  study  from  almost  any  point  of  view.  The  orioinal 
Massachusetts  plantations  were  as  near  a  democratic  communism  as 
has  ever  been  under  extended  trial  in  our  history.  The  nature  of 
this  common  proprietorship  in  land  and  local  political  prerogative 
will  be  apparent  by  glancing  through  the  town  acts.  It  was  a 
smion-pure  democracy,  not  even  a  selectman  standing  between  its 
inhabitants  and  their  desires.  They  met  once  a  month  at  least,  and 
with  the  simple  election  of  a  moderator  and  clerlv  the  machinery  of 
government  was  complete. 

In  October,  1638,  the  town  voted  that  "  noe  trees  shall  be  cut 
downe  or  taken  away  by  any  man  in  y^  compass  of  grownd  from  y^ 
mill  river  upward  to  John  Readers  Lott,  w^^  parsell  of  ground  is 
appoynted  for  howse  Lotts."  No  inhabitant  was  permitted  to  sell 
his  canoe  to  outside  parties.  An  infringement  of  this  order  on  the 
part  of  Henry  Gregory,  John  Leonard,  and  Robert  Ashley  brought 
down  upon  them  a  reprimand,  but  they  were  finally  given  five 
months  to  "  redeem  and  bringe  y'"  into  the  Plantation  agayne." 

A  "  foote   path   and  stiles  "  were  ordered  to   be  built  "  at  every 


48  SPRINGFIELD,     1636-18S6. 

man's  lott  end  next  y'^  greate  river."     In  January,  1638,  we  find  tliis 
important  decree  :  — 

It  is  ordered  and  voted  w*'^  y^  Joynt  consent  of  ye  Plantation  yt  no  man  yt  is 
posesed  of  a  Lott  by  y^  dispose  of  y*^  Plantation,  shall  after  sell  it  to  another  of 
y^'  Plantation,  yt  hath  a  Lott  allready :  nej'ther  shall  any  man  posese  tAvo  mens 
Lotts,  w*'i  out  y*^'  consent  of  y^  Plantation  or  such  as  shall  be  appoynted,  till 
they  have  bin  inhabitants  5  years  in  y^  Plantation ;  But  if  any  desire  to  sell 
his  Lotte,  he  may  to  a  stranger,  pvided  y*^  sd  Plantation  shall  not  disalowe  of  y^ 
sd  stranger :  But  in  case  they  shall  not  alowe  y*'  admission  of  y^  sd  stranger, 
then  ye  Plantation  shall  bye  y^  sd  Lotte  as  indifferent  men  shall  apprise  you : 
But  if  y^  Plantation  shall  delay  y^  sd  purchase  twenty  dayes  then  ye  sd  seller 
shall  have  his  Liberty  to  take  his  chapman  and  y'^'  Plantation  shall  be  bound  to 
take  notice  of  such  a  purchase  yt  is  ppounded  to  fower  of  the  cheife  Inhabitants 
togeather  :  If  y«  sd  4  men  shall  hold  theyr  peace  and  not  oppose  it  in  ten  dayes 
then  it  shall  be  esteemed  y^  y^'  Plantation  doth  allowe  of  y^*  sd  purchase. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  town  owned  all  the  laud  in  fee  simple. 
Its  title  was  twofold :  First,  from  the  colony,  which  received  it  from 
the  king  ;  and,  second,  from  the  Indians.  The  town,  in  turn,  did  not 
sell,  but  apportioned  lands  to  the  various  inhabitants,  it  reserving 
the  right  to  take  the  land  back  after  paying  for  improvements 
thereon.  No  inhabitant,  upon  taking  a  lot  from  the  town,  paid  any 
money  for  it ;  the  parcel  of  land  was  simply  "  aloted  "  to  him.  The 
above  order  was  modified  after  the  town  ])ecame  large  enough  to 
require  selectmen,  and  for  many  years  the  order  stood  as  follows 
upon  the  records  :  — 

For  the  prevention  of  sundry  evils,  that  May  befall  tliis  Township,  through 
ill-disposed  persons,  that  may  thrust  themselves  in  amongst  us,  agaynst  the  lik- 
inge,  and  consent  of  the  generality  of  the  inhabitants,  or  select  Townsmen,  by 
purchasing  a  lott,  or  place  of  habitation,  &c.  It  is  therefore  ordered  &  declared, 
that  no  inhabitant,  shall  sell,  or  in  any  kind  pass  away  his  house  lot  or  any  part 
of  it,  or  any  other  of  his  allotments  to  any  stranger,  before  he  have  made,  the 
select  Townsmen,  acquainted,  who  his  chapman  is.  and  they  accordingly  allow 
his  admission,  under  penalty,  of  paying  Twenty  shillings  for  every  parcell  of 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  49 


land,  so  sold,  or  forfeitinge  his  land,  soe  sould,  or  passed  away.  But  if  the 
select  ToAvnsmen,  see  grounde  to  disalowe  of  the  admission,  of  said  chapman, 
then  the  Town,  or  Inhabitants  shall  have  30  days  tyme  to  resolve,  whether  they 
will  buy  the  said  allottments,  which  said  alottments  they  may  buy,  as  indifferent 
partys  shall  apprise  them.  But  in  case  the  Inhabitants  shall  delay  to  make  a 
purchase  of  the  said  lands,  above  30  days  after  the  propounding  of  it  to  the 
select  Townsmen,  then  the  said  seller  shall  have  his  liberty  to  take  his  chapman 
and  such  chapman,  or  stranger  shall  be  esteemed,  as  entertained  or  alowed  of, 
by  the  towne  as  an  Inhabitant. 

To  illustrate  the  practice  under  this  rule,  here  are  added  a  few  of 
the  special  orders  passed  :  — 

William  Hunter  was  admitted  an  Inhabitant  of  this  town  and  John  Riley  & 
John  Harrison  doe  bind  themselves,  their  executors  &  administrators  to  y®  Town 
Treasurer  &  Selectmen  or  eyther  of  them  in  a  bond  of  thirty  pounds  to  secure 
the  Town  from  any  charge  that  may  arise  to  y«^  Towne  from  the  said  William 
Hunter  or  any  of  his  family. 

Henry  Gregor}",  whose  wife  seemed  materially  to  add  to  the  ills 
this  pioneer  was  heir  to,  finally  concluded  to  sell,  and  his  son  Judali 
presented  the  case  to  the  town  meeting.     The  vote  runs  : — 

Henry  Gregory  being  purposed  to  sell  his  lott  and  ppoundinge  it  to  y*"  Plan- 
tation by  his  Sonne  Judah  accordinge  to  order,  Richard  Everit  beinge  his  Chap- 
man The  Plantation  gave  ye  voate  wherin  they  disalowed  y^  Chapman  ppounded 
and  resolved  to  buy  y*^  lott. 

It  must  not  be  inferred  from  this  action  that  the  town  reflected  in 
any  way  upon  the  "  chapman,"  Richard  Everett.  The  two  men  had 
adjoining  lots,  and  it  was  against  the  policy  of  the  town  to  allow  the 
inhabitants  to  add  to  the  size  of  their  home  lots.  One  fancies  that 
the  plantation  was  not  slow  in  buying  Mr.  Giregory's  property. 
He  appears  to  have  been  peculiarly  unsuited  for  the  life  of  the  wil- 
derness, which  was  only  tolerable  by  an  infusion  of  both  Christian 
faith  and  stoic  endurance. 


50  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

In  April,  1641,  John  Cable,  who  had  concluded  to  seek  his  fortune 
at  Windsor,  proposed  to  sell  his  real  estate  for  £40.  The  town 
bought  it  back,  paying  £10  down,  and  the  balance  in  instalments. 
A  portion  of  this  was  paid  in  corn  delivered  at  Windsor.  Again, 
anticipating  a  few  years  for  fuller  illustration  of  this  point,  we  find 
that  in  January,  164"),  it  was  ordered,  — 

By  y^  Joynt  consent  of  y^  Plantation  their  is  leave  granted  (notw'i^standinge 
a  former  order  dated  March  17*''  KUl  to  y*^  contrary)  unto  William  Vaughan 
to  lett  out  his  land  to  Rise  Bedortha  for  y*'  space  and  terme  of  six  yeares  to  be 
imp'ved  by  him. 

There  is  here  much  more  than  a  hint  of  the  land  theories  that  obtain 
in  certain  quarters  in  the  present  age.  Not  only  was  the  land  tenure 
.and  proprietorship  grounded  in  a  rule  of  communism,  but  the  hand 
of  the  town  democracy  was  upon  the  shoulder  of  every  man  in  his 
daily  work  and  walk.     At  the  close  of  the  year  1639  is  this  vote  :  — 

It  is  alsoe  agreed  for  y*^  ordering  of  Laborers  wadges  y'  carpenters  shall  have 
for  9  months  2s  6d  p  day  &  for  3  months  from  y«  lO*'*  of  Novembr  to  y*^  10*'^  of 
ffebr  :  2s  p  day ;  mowers  shall  have  2s  (3d  p  day  sawers  Os  6d  p  they  to  fall  & 
hewe  &  the  owner  to  bring  to  y*^  pitt.  Alsoe  for  husbandry  or  any  ordinary 
labor  to  have  2s  for  9  months,  only  from  y*"  24*'^  April  till  the  24*^  June  they  are 
Left  to  theyre  Liberty  as  men  can  agree  w*'^  them  &  for  the  other  3  months  viz 
from  November  10''^  till  Frbr  lO''^  to  have  18d  p  daye. 

The  town  was  laid  out  in  a  peculiar  manner  for  New  England, 
where  a  twenty-rod  road  was  the  usual  rule.  This  was  incidentally 
of  service  to  a  community  exposed  to  the  Indians.  It  could  be 
stockaded,  and  cattle  could  be  safely  pastured  on  the  broad  street. 
But  the  original  Agawam  seems  to  have  had  no  such  street.  The 
plantation  was  housed  upon  the  narrow  plateau  that  stretched 
between  the  great  river  and  the  swamp  at  the  foot  of  a  sharp  bluff. 
There  has  been  time  out  of  mind  a  brook  running  along  Springfield's 
business  street,  and  the  presumption  is  that  the  planters  found  it  there 


SPBINGFIELD,    1636-18S6.  51 

in  1636.  It  ran  along  the  east  side  of  the  street,  and  in  the  first 
records  it  is  called  a  "  ditch."  It  served  as  a  drain  for  the  marsh, 
and  originally  was  a  small  affair,  for  there  are  frequent  references  to 
work  upon  it.  Thus  in  November,  1639,  the  town  voted  that  ''  all 
y'  have  a  ditch  by  y*"  high  waye  before  theyer  doores,  shall  keepe  it 
well  scowred  for  the  ready  passadge  of  y^  water  y*  it  may  not  be 
pent  up  to  flowe  the  meddowe."  This  ditch  was  insisted  upon,  as 
appears  by  a  formal  vote  two  years  later  (Dec.  24,  1641)  :  "It 
is  ordered  y'  every  inhabitant  shall  scower  &  make  a  ditch  y^  bredth 
of  his  lott  before  his  doore  w''^  is  to  be  done  by  y^  last  of  may 
next  on  y*'  penalty  of  5s  for  every  defalt  y^  way."  The  inhabitants 
were  often  remiss  in  keeping  this  ditch  open.  The  fines  due  in  1645 
were  suspended,  and  an  extra  month  allowed  in  which  to  clean  out 
these  ditches  ;  "  &  if  any  be  there  defective  y^  penalty  is  to  be 
[paid]  to  Goodman  Prichard."  It  may,  therefore,  be  doubted  whether 
there  was  a  natural  brook  along  the  course  of  what  has  since  been 
known  as  the  Town  brook.  The  lowest  ground  was  certainly  nearer 
the  bluff,  under  what  is  now  Chestnut  street.  A  fence  was  built  in 
front  of  the  houses  on  the  west  side  of  the  street,  and  no  buildings 
were  allowed  between  it  and  the  ditch. 

Training  day  came  once  a  month.  Henry  Smith  was  the  first 
"  Serjant,"  and  he  was  given  power  to  name  the  day  of  meetings, 
and  to  "  choose  a  Corporal."  Men  absenting  themselves  "  shall 
forfeite  twelve  pence,"  so  the  record  reads,  and  "  all  above  15  yeares 
of  age  shall  be  counted  for  soldiers."  No  person  was  allowed  to  sell 
or  give  powder  to  the  Indians. 

The  community  of  interests  and  common  proprietorship  did  not 
have  the  effect  to  reduce  frictions  between  man  and  man.  The  right 
to  quarrel  was  exercised  from  the  start.  William  Pynchon  as  magis- 
trate writes  :  — 

November  14  1639.  A  meetinge  to  order  some  Towne  affaires  &  to  try  causes 
by  Jury.  The  Jury  Henry  Smith  Henry  Gregory  Jo:  Leonard  Jo:  Searle 
Samuell  Hubbard,   Samuel  Wright.     The  Action.     John  Woodcocke  complains 


52  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

against  Jo  Cable  in  an  action  of  the  case  for  wages  due  to  him  for  certaine 
Avorke  he  did  to  a  house  that  was  built  on  Agawam  side  for  the  Plantation.  The 
verdict.  The  Jury  findes  for  the  defendant :  But  Avithall  they  find  the  p'mise  that 
Jo  Cable  made  to  the  plaintif  to  see  him  paid  for  Ms  work  firme  &  good.  But 
as  for  the  5  days  in  Coming  up  with  John  Cal)le  we  find  that  not  due  to  be  paid 
for  he  came  not  up  purposely  but  in  his  coming  he  aimed  at  a  lott  w^i  end  of 
which  he  did  attain.  Moreover  we  agree  that  Jo  Cable  is  engaged  to  the  plain- 
tif for  work  done  about  the  house,  yet  wee  also  judge  that  Jo  Woodcock  is  fully 
satisfied,  in  regard  he  hath  had  the  use  of  the  ould  ground  &  of  the  howse  all 
that  sommer  as  far  as  Jo  Cable  had  himselfe. 

Upon  the  same  day  (Nov.  14,  1639)  was  tried  a  suit  by  William 
Pynchon  against  Thomas  Mirrick  for  ''not  delivering  back  the 
Boards  he  lent  him,"  the  jury  deciding  that  the  defendant  should 
"  make  good  3  such  like  boards  as  we  find  not  3^et  delivered  with  the 
rest."  In  Deceml)er,  1(339,  came  up  Mirrick's  suit  against  Thomas 
Horton,  for  "  3  boards  that  he  said  Merick  wantes."  Mirrick  secured 
a  verdict  of  3s.  in  money. 

There  is  a  ver}'  curious  and  interesting  record  in  the  Pynchon  book 
concerning  a  suit  for  slander,  brought  by  the  minister  against  Wood- 
cock, throwing,  as  it  does,  light  upon  the  legal  methods  of  that  time. 
Jurisdiction  '*in  the  river  "means  the  Hartford  jurisdiction.  The 
date  is  December,  1639,  in  which  year  Jolin  Cable  was  constable  :  — 

Jo  :  Woodcock  beinge  summoned  by  warrant  to  answer  Mr.  George  Moxon  in 
an  action  of  slander  for  reportinge  that  he  tooke  a  false  oath  against  him ;  The 
said  John  desyred  that  this  difference  might  be  tried  by  a  private  heeringe  below 
in  the  Kiver :  Mr.  Moxon  referred  himself  to  the  Judgment  of  y^'  plantation 
present  whether  it  were  fitter  to  be  heard  by  a  private  refference  below  in  y^ 
River,  or  tryal  here  publikly  by  a  Jury.  The  generall  voat  of  the  plantation  is 
that  seeing  the  matter  is  publik  it  should  be  publikly  herd  &  and  tryed  her  by  a 
Jury  :  Liberty  is  granted  to  John  Woodcok  to  produce  his  Avitnesses  against 
this  day  fortnight  being  the  26  of  December.  Also  at  the  said  tjme  Jo:  Wood- 
cok is  warned  to  answer  for  his  langhuege  in  sermon  tyme :  this  day  at  the 
Lecture. 

This  case  was  postponed  from  the  26th  to  January  2,   1640.     Tiie 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6.  53 

alleged  false  oath  was  at  Hartford,  and  Mr.  Moxoii  demanded  £9  19s. 
damages  for  the  slander.  Owing  to  a  paucity  of  men  in  the  planta- 
tion, three  of  Mr.  ^Nloxon's  witnesses  —  Robert  Ashley,  Henry  Smith, 
and  Samuel  Hubbard  —  were  also  upon  the  jur}'.  The  minister  scored 
a  verdict  of  £6  13.s.  Ad.  A  warrant  was  at  once  issued,  and  when 
Mr.  Moxon  gave  it  to  the  constable,  Woodcock  exclaimed  that  he 
owed  "  Mr.  Moxon  no  money,  nor  none  he  would  pay  him."  There 
must  have  been  quite  a  scene,  for  Mr.  Pynchon  took  down  Wood- 
cock's declaration  that  he  was  read}"  to  repeat  his  offence. 

The  absolutism  of  the  town-meeting  could  not  ])e  better  illustrated 
than  m  this  case.  It  here  performed  the  offices  of  judge,  grand  juror, 
and  legislator.  As  judge,  it  decided  not  to  order  a  change  of  venue  ; 
as  grand  juror,  it  presented  the  man  for  trial ;  as  legislator,  it  decreed, 
as  it  had  before,  that  the  case  should  go  to  a  jury  of  six,  instead  of 
twelve,  as  the  colony  laws  decreed.  It  might  be  wondered  what  there 
could  be  left  for  the  magistrate  to  do  under  such  an  all-pervading 
democracy.  William  Pynchon  was  always  moderator  of  the  town- 
meeting,  and  thus  the  lines  of  his  political  and  judicial  prerogatives 
were  often  blended.  As  moderator  at  this  meeting  of  the  town,  he 
would  put  the  question  proposed  by  Woodcock,  that  the  case  go  to 
Hartford  for  private  reference  ;  while,  as  magistrate,  he  would  sum- 
mon the  jury  to  try  the  case,  administer  oaths,  and  receive  and  record 
verdicts. 

The  plantation  had  now  been  nearly  a  year  independent  of  the  Con- 
necticut authorities,  and  AVoodcock's  proposal  to  refer  the  case  there 
was  undoubtedly  in  keeping  with  his  character  as  a  querulous  and 
irrepressible  man,  who  delighted  in  irritating  and  annoying  his 
neighbor. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

1 640-1 G4:^. 

Revival  of  the  Charges  against  William  Pynehon.  —  His  Trial  before  the  "Windsor 
Church.  —  Connecticut  claims  "Woronoco  (Westfield).  —  Massachusetts  protests.  — 
The  Arrival  of  Elizur  llolyoke,  Samuel  Chapin,  and  others.  —  Goody  Giegory 
fined  for  Profanity.  —  Fire  Ladders.  —  Woodcock  vs.  Gregory.  —  Price  of  Labor. 
—  Second  Division  of  Planting-Grounds.  —  Marriage  of  Mary  Pynehon. 

Imperfect  records  prevent  the  rehearsal  in  detail  of  the  second 
trial  of  William  Pynehon  upon  the  old  charge  of  speculation  in  trade 
to  the  detriment  of  the  public.  The  charge  M^as  brought  b}^  certain 
members  of  the  church  at  Windsor,  Conn.,  the  object  being  to  withdraw 
from  him  tlie  right  hand  of  Christian  fellowship.  The  date  of  the 
appearance  of  Mr.  Pynehon  at  Windsor  has  not  yet  been  discovered. 
Indeed,  none  of  the  historians  speak  of  this  trial  at  all,  even  the 
AYindsor  church  records  making  no  mention  of  it.  It  is  only  through 
a  correspondence  that  followed  Pynchon's  second  trial  that  we  can 
get  any  idea  of  the  proceedings.  One  wonders  what  jurisdiction  the 
Windsor  church  had  over  Mr.  Pynehon  that  warranted  a  summons 
to  appear  there.  The  natural  conjecture  is,  that  the  friends  of  Cap- 
tain Mason  —  who,  by  the  way,  was  a  member  of  the  Windsor 
church —  had  attempted  to  make  a  demonstration  against  the 
Agawam  magistrate,  for  its  moral  effect.  There  was  a  close  con- 
nection between  Agawam  and  AVindsor  during  the  first  few  years, 
and  it  is  known  that  Mr.  Pynehon  took  a  letter  from  the  Roxbury 
church  to  the  Windsor  church.  We  propose  to  give  in  full  the  ver- 
dict of  the  Windsor  church.  It  reached  Agawam  Sept.  21,  1640, 
and  has  never  before  appeared  in  print.  Any  one  is  at  liberty  to 
draw  conclusions  :  the  account  of  the  lirst  Pynehon  trial  already 
given  will  make  further  explanations  unnecessary. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636~1SS6.  55 


Sept.  6,  1640.  The  Church  beinge  assembled,  to  determine  Avhether  M^ 
William  Pinchons  answers  were  satisfactory  to  v^'  brethrens  offence,  at  his  fay- 
linges  in  y''  trust  of  tradinge  corne,  for  y^  supply  of  y^  country,  contained  in  5 
Articles  p'sented  to  him  by  y*^  said  brethren,  resolutely  as  followeth.  To  y^  first 
Charge  that  he  made  show  yt  corne  could  not  be  procured  at  the  price  mentioned 
in  y*'  order,  when  y^  Capt  at  y^  same  time  traded  under,  w^h  is  interpreted  as  a 
declining  in  y^  Service.  M-".  Pinchon  answered,  y^  he  could  not  gett  any  quan- 
tity, at  the  price  in  y-  order,  to  wc^  the  Church  replyed,  he  could  not  resolve  soe 
great  a  matter,  soe  soone  as  in  one  or  two  dayes  experience,  soe  as  to  write  about 
ye  alteration  of  y*'  price. 

2.  That  he  was  bound  certainly  for  500  bushells  at  yi«  rate,  though  he  should 
not  save  by  it.  To  w^'^  his  returne  was,  yt  his  servant  left  at  home  wth  instruc- 
tions to  trade  what  he  could,  did  informe  him  in  what  he  wrote,  &  also  affirmed 
yt  the  500  bushells  was  subject  to  y«  proviso  in  y^  one  of  y«  order,  yieldinge  him 
power  to  rayse  the  price  of  that  also.  Concerninge  w^h  answere,  &  rephes,  y« 
Church  determined  y'  they  were  not  satisfactory,  for  yt  first,  his  servant  in 
ye  intrim  of  his  beinge  at  Court,  could  not  act  w^h  respect  to  y^  countrys  neces- 
stvs,  nor  his  bargaine,  certaine  for  500  bushells,  &  so  could  not  informe  him 
sufficiently  to  bottome  what  he  wrote.  And  secondly,  the  words  of  the  order 
beinge  directly  ag^t  his  reply,  &  the  Magistrates  being  confident,  y*  the  bargaine 
was  certaine  for  500  bushells,  we  see  no  reason,  to  rest  in  his  private  apprehen- 
sions to  ye  contrary.  Thirdly,  his  direction  being,  to  certify  ye  Magistrates  how 
corne  came  in  only,  he  added  a  clause  of  ye  alteration  of  ye  price  also,  wch  to  us 
is  an  appearance  of  his  declining  in  ye  trust  and  contract. 

2.  That  when  Capt  Mason,  w^^  others,  came  up  to  trade  corne  ficcordinge  to 
ye  power  reserved  in  ye  order  he  refused  to  further  them  w"^  these  words,  I  will 
neither  meddle  nor  make.  To  wch,  when  M^  Pinchon  answered  ye  Captaine 
came  not  up  according  to  ye  order,  the  Church  then  read  and  showed  him  ye 
Capts  order  in  ye  Record  -  and  it  appeared  to  agree  wti  the  exception  m  M-" 

Pinchons  Order. 

1.  Against  well  m-"  Smiths  testimony  was  produced,  witnessinge,  that  amongst 
the  orders  &  rolles  in  ye  gen'all  Co'te,  he  found  an  order  authorizinge  Capt 
Mason  to  trade  as  before  to  wch  were  most  of  ye  Magistrates,  &  many  of  y'^ 
Comittees  hands  together  w^^  M^  Hookers,  M^  Stones,  &  M^  Whitinges,  for  y 
this  order  seemed  not  to  proceed  from  ye  Magistrates,  but  from  ye  gen>all  Co-'t, 
or  rather  from  neither.  Concerninge  wch  the  Church  determination  is,  y^  M-" 
Pinchons  answers,  backed  w^i^  M-"  Smithes  testimony,  doth  not  take  off  y«  charge, 
for  that  uppon  due  examination  of  ye  said  rolles,  &  orders,  off  y''  gen'all  Co^t,  it 


^^^  SPB  TNG  FIELD,    1 636-1886. 


appears  M-  Smitl.  was  mistaken,  for  yt  was  ye  originall  order,  warrantinge  ye 
C'apt,  wch  ,vas  after  recorded  in  tlie  booke,  &  it  was  granted  bv  5  Magistmtes 
only,  &  whereas  some  Comittees,  &  the  other  brethren  hands  are  to  y^  said  order 
yt  was,  to  testify  one  clause  i,i  ye  order,  respectinge  ye  Countrves  Complaintes 
&  necessityes  only;  &  not  to  ye  warrant  granted,  for  wd.  we.^  haveinc^e  their 
oaths  offered,  doe  beleeve  wt  is  here  answered ;  soe  yt  ye  Capts  authority  bein^e 
approved,    we  cannot   justify    M^   Pinchons    refusall,    to  further   r  Couniryes 


service. 


3.  To  the  3d  article,  That  wliereas  the  Captaine  desired  him  to  take  awav  the 
Indians  feares,  he  found  tliat  after  his  private  Conference  wti>  tlie  Indian  the 
Indian  was  more  unwillinge  to  trade  than  before,  to  wch,  when  M^  Pinclion 
answered,  the  Indian  was  unwillinge  fr-  ye  begininge,  tlie  Cluircli  replved  oath 
was  made  to  ye  Co^t  yt  the  Indian  was  willinge,  &  and  that  liis  cominge  to  ^ett 
leave,  argued  his  willingnesse  to  trade  w"^  leave.  * 

Unto  we.>  M-  Pinchon  returned,  yt  he  did  not  disco-age,  nor  dissuade  ye  Indian 
to  trade  one  way  or  other,  otherwise  than  what  he  might  gather  bv  their  me.s- 
uremg  ye  baskett,  &  other  like  passages,  &  then  correctinge  himselfo  bv  that 
time,  ye  register  had  written  his  answers,  &  read  it  to  him,  he  said  lie  did  n^t  dis- 
co-age nor  dissuade  the  Indian  from  tradings  in  his  own  wav;  but  for  disco'a.- 
inge  or  dissuadeinge  in  the  Capts  way-he  answered  not.  Concerning  wch  tlie 
Church  determines,  yt  his  answere  is  not  satisfactory  for  vt  tiiey  judge  the 
Capts  way  lawfull,  though  M'"  Pinchon  thinkes  otherwise.  And  M-  Pinchon  not 
denying  ye  charge  of  disco'ageinge  ye  Indian  in  tradinge  wti^  the  Capt  in  the 
CHpts  way,  falls  under  the  charge;  for  yt  the  Church  hath  noe  reason  to  put 
the  plaintife  to  prove  ye  charge,  untill  it  be  denied  bv  the  defendant 

4.  To  ye  4th  charge  that  he  Used  disco'age-t  to  Goodman  Stebbins  & 
others,  whoe  were  said  to  trade,  wf.  power  to  take  one  of  liis  servants  w-i^  them 
&  lie  seemed  unwilling  yt  his  servant  should  goe,  &  said  if  he  went,  he  should 
doe  them  little  good,  &  said  also,  that  there  was  little  corne  to  be  hadd  at 
Pacomtuk,  &that  wch  .-as,  was  promised  him;  &  otlier  like  thinges ;  whereas 
they  found  his  man  did  them  little  good,  &  also  that  there  was  ver^  much  corne 
at  that  place,  &  traded  much  in  that  place. 

To  wei.  M'-  Pinchons  answere  was,  yt  he  remembered  not  tliese  words  con- 
cerninge  his  mans  doinge  them  noe  good,  &  yt  he  might  seeme  unwillinge  to 
send  him  he  beleeveth,  for  yt  there  was  a  clause  in  their  warrant,  concerning 
tribute,  &  a  compelling  way  of  trade,  w^h  ,,ere  against  his  jud-nt  &  t,,^^  ^-^ 
likely  he  might  ingage  the  Indians  to  promise  him  corne.  beinge  imploved 
therein  for  ye  country.     Concerninge  w^h  the  Church  determinatii^n  is    vt  Yis 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6.  57 


answere  concerninge  the  corne  promised  liini,  &  otlier  things,  as  the  Indians 
being  from  ....  is  satisfactory.  But  Concerninge  y^  of  his  servants 
doeinges  tliem  noe  good,  tlie  Church  iiavinge  but  one  witnesse,  doth  demur,  & 
cannot  determine  furtlier. 

To  y'^  5"^  charge  that  notw^'^standinge,  lie  could  not  but  take  notice  of  y"^ 
necessity es  of  y*^  country,  l)y  y*"  Gen' all  complaints,  &  comissions  granted  to 
severall  persons,  he  yet  omitted  y^  trust  comitted  to  him,  by  order  of  Co'te,  & 
did  not  satisfy  the  intent  of  y^'  said  trust,  first  or  last. 

To  Avch  jvir  pinchon  answered.  1.  yt  it  Avas  nuicli  to  his  greife,  that  he  could 
not  ansAvere  the  necessityes  of  liis  brethren ;  but  he  Avas  hindered  therein  by 
others  that  ingrossed  y^  trade,  by  goeinge  a  Avay  of  power,  av^Ii  interrupted  a  free 
trade.  And  2'y  that  he  takes  himself  discharged  of  his  trust,  by  y^gen'-all  Comis- 
sions, granted  unto  others. 

Concerninge  av^^  the  Church's  determination  is,  yt  the  Answeres  doe  not  take 
off  the  charge —  for  yt  1,  M'"  Pinchon  was  obliged  certainly  to  bring  in  500 
bushells,  that  Av'^h  j^^  presumed  to  have  A\">in  his  power,  Avhen  he  made  y^  con- 
clusion. 2"^i  for  y'  y^  substance  of  corne  yt  Avas  procured  by  these  Comissions 
Avas  soe  procured  about  the  middle  of  May,  &  his  order  made,  in  ye  beginninge 
of  March.  Soe  yf  for  2  monthes  space,  he  Avas  little  hindered  by  those  Comis- 
sions. And  lastly,  for  y*  A\ee  judge  his  judg^"'  Avas  not  soe  sound,  resolveinge 
by  noe  means  to  alter  liis  former  Avay  of  trading  to  Avitt,  in  stayinge,  till  the 
Indians  brought  downe  their  corne ;  for  Ave  deeme  liis  brethrens  necessityes  Avas 
a  ground,  sufificient  to  alter  the  Avay  of  trade,  as  Ave  see,  it  seemed  afterwards  to 
^I'  Pinchon,  &  his  friend^s,  beinge  pressed  thereunto,  by  their  owne  necessitye, 
Avhen  yet  their  brethrens  necessityes  did  not  soe  farre,  prevayle  av^i  them. 

Jonx  Warham 
Ephkaim  IIlitt 
John  Witchfeild 

III  y*^  name  of  y^  Chiuxh 

Rec'd  this  ansAvere  &  Ire 
21  Sept.  1G40. 

M'-  Huitts  IrG  Avti^  it 
dated  Sept.  15.  1G40. 

:Mr.  Pynchon  took  from  the  middle  of  September  until  October  24 
to  prepare  a  protest  against  the  above  decision.  It  was  a  good 
specimen  of  special  pleading,  and  showed  what  his  published  works 
show,  —  a  keen  and  logical  mind,  and  a  sense  of  justice  which  not 


58  SPRINGFIELD.    1636-1SS6. 


even  the  ill-will  of  a  whole  province  could  shake.     After  reviewing 
the  evidence  he  sums  up  by  saying :  — 

So  then  as  I  made  it  plaine  to  the  Co't,  w*  I  payd  to  y*'  Indians,  viz.,  0  sixes 
a  peck.  &  asked  noe  increase  of  that  price  uppon  tl'.e  country,  soe,  also,  the  Co'^t 
manifested  tlieir  desire,  y"  I  sliould  not  loose ;  &  therefore  it  is  added,  if  I  were 
forced  by  the  Indians  to  rayse  tlie  price,  then  the  Country  must  rise  so  much. 
Yea  the  Co^t  did  cut  off  all  hope  of  raysinge  anytliinge  into  my  purse,  though  I 
were  forced  to  rayse  the  price  w^'^  the  Indians,  because  I  am  used  to  receive  a 
certain  sett  sum  for  my  labo""  in  tradinge  (viz.  43  p  bushell  in  Wampam  at  3. 
a  penny)  as  a  servant,  &  not  to  rayse  any  further  gaines  into  my  purse,  as  a 
Merchant. 

In  short,  Mr.  Pynchon  could  not  make  any  money  by  raising  the 
price  of  corn  under  the  contract ;  therefore,  the  charge  against  him 
fails  to  give  a  motive  for  his  alleged  short-comings. 

Mr.  Pynchon's  first  letter  to  Hartford,  informing  the  authorities 
of  the  unwillingness  of  the  Indians  to  bring  in  corn,  had  given  great 
offence,  because  it  contained  a  recommendation  or  suggestion  as  to 
what  policy  to  pursue.  This  recommendation  also  figured  against 
Pynchon  at  Windsor.  ''  Can  a  church  or  any  else,"  adds  Mr.  Pyn- 
chon, "  deny  me  liberty  to  expound  my  own  thoughts  by  way  of 
advice  to  the  magistrates  ? "  The  case  reduces  itself  to  this : 
Agawam  was  situated  upon  the  border  of  the  planting-grounds. 
Mr.  Pynchon  was  the  natural  man  to  furnish  Connecticut  with  corn  ; 
he  made  a  contract  with  the  river  towns  by  which  he  could  receive 
no  commission  or  speculative  gains  whatever  the  price  might  be  ;  he 
found  that  the  conditions  were  difficult  to  fidfil.  Captain  Mason, 
the  warrior,  was  then  sent  up  with  an  armed  force  to  trade,  and 
there  was  trouble,  of  course.  We  will  content  ourselves  with  but 
one  more  extract  from  Mr.  Pynchon's  protest,  detailing,  as  it  does, 
the  results  of  Captain  Mason's  excursions  :  — 

If  the  Capt  liad  gone  in  a  way  of  trade  only  to  the  Indians,  at  Messaco  & 
Paquannuk,  &  other  places   neare  yot"*"  townes  w^h  whome  I   had  noe  tradinge 


SPRrXGFIELD.    2636-1 8S6.  59 


in  come,  it  had  beene  more  tolerable.  This  had  been  dispensinge  av"'  the 
proviso  in  the  order. 

But  after  this  he  A\ent  to  Woronoco,  &  amongst  our  Indians,  &  he  Avould 
alsoe  have  traded  w"'  tliem  at  Ivamotuk  &  Pacomtuk.  such  Indians  w"'  whome 
my  trade  mainly  lyes,  &  from  wliome  I  expected  what  I  Avas  likely  to  trade 
for  ye  Country.  Is  this  not  a  plaine  turninge  mee  out  of  the  saddle,  to  take 
the  Markett  out  of  ni}-  liands  eytlier  by  tradinge  w*  corne  the  Indians  have 
to  trade,  or  else  (w<=''  is  as  bad),  cominge  in  the  name  of  the  English  Sachems, 
laying  open  to  the  Indians,  the  wants  of  the  English,  &  puttinge  Wampam 
uppon  them  on  trust,  to  put  the  Indians  uppon  such  new  thoughts  &  consid- 
erations, y*^  I  can  have  no  more  Corne  from  them,  to  speak  off :  flfor  now  I 
tooke  notice  that  uppon  the  capt  cominge  upp  among  ye  Indians,  there  was 
such  a  hubbub,  or  strange  alteration  among  all  of  y^  neighbour  Indians,  that 
they  would  not  trade  soe  much  corne  w^'i  mee  as  might  supply  ones  owne 
necessetyes.  which  were  as  great  if  not  greater  than  yours. 

My  trader,  divers  of  my  familye,  &  Sundry  others  of  our  plantation,  felt  the 
smart  of  this  alteration  amonge  the  Indians,  &  hadd  good  cause  to  remember  it, 
as  well  as  my  self  e  to  this  day.  The  conditions  uppon  w^h  I  made  my  bargaine 
wth  the  Co''te  and  Country,  was,  (besides  tearmes  of  price)  that  the  Avants  of 
the  Country  might  be  kept  secrett.  2.  The  price  kept  downe.  3.  that  none 
by  cominge  upp  to,  or  amongst  the  Indians  to  trade  corne,  should  forestall  my 
Markett,  the  order  represses  two  of  these,  &  includes  the  third,  &  yett  all  these 
conditions  were  broken  by  the  Capt  and  that  Assembly  that  sett  him  on  Worke. 
I  do  verily  thinke  this,  (jet  I  should  be  gladd  to  see  any  grounds  to  alter  my 
thoughts),  that  the  plaine  and  true  English  of  the  matter  about  sendinge  up  the 
Capt  l)y  that  Assembly  then  is  this  :  When  they  received  from  mee  that  letter, 
about  well  sucli  adoe  is  made,  through  mistakinge,  if  not  pervertinge  my  mean- 
inge,  they  entertained  a  prejudice  ag*^  mee  &  my  faythfulnesse,  about  the  trust 
reposed  in  mee.  This  prejudice  brought  their  minds  into  a  hurry  w*  Course  to 
take  for  y^  Countryes  supply,  and  their  minds  beinge  in  a  hurry,  they  intended 
not  the  true  intent  of  the  contract  w*'^  me,  cast  off  great  parte  of  their  hopes  of 
supply  from  mee,  siipposinge  mee  not  faythfull  &  carefull  enough,  seeking  mine 
owne  ends,  not  the  public.  Uppon  tliese  suppositiones,  &  jealousies,  they  con- 
sider it  needful  to  appoint  another  gen'all  trader  y*  might  more  speedily  and 
diligently  supply  the  Countryes  Avantes,  and  soe  not  attending  the  first  contract 
Av^h  mee,  according  to  the  true  intent  of  the  proviso,  nor  yet  alloAvinge  due  & 
convenient  time,  to  try  av^  I  could  &  A\ould  have  done,  for  performance  of  the 
bargaine.  they  ran  into  such  disorder  &  injustice  as  I  now  complaine  off. 


60  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6. 


After  the  Windsor  church  had  condemned  Mr.  Pynchon,  he  ap- 
pealed to  Mr.  P^liot  and  the  l\oxbury  church.  There  are  indications 
that  he  and  his  witnesses  were  at  Koxbury  at  the  time  that  several  Con- 
necticut men  were  at  Charlestown.  At  any  rate,  the  Roxbur^^  church 
notitied  ]Mr.  Pynchon's  accusers  when  they  were  at  the  Bay  tliat  the 
charges  were  being  examined  by  the  Koxbury  church,  which  after  a 
thorough  examination  completely  vindicated  Mr.  Pynchon.  Thus 
the  Connecticut  General  Court  and  the  Windsor  church  condemned 
Mr.  Pynchon,  and  the  Massachusetts  General  Court  and  the  Rox- 
bury  church  stood  by  him. 

It  was  at  the  town-meeting  of  April  16,  KUO,  that  the  important 
vote  was  passed  changing  the  name  from  Agawam  (which  was  the 
Indian  name  for  meadow)  to  Springfield,  after  Mr.  Pynchon's  Eng- 
lish home.  The  spelling  as  it  stands  on  the  record  is  ''  Spring- 
feild." 

But  we  are  not  yet  done  with  the  complications  which  feelings  of 
mutual  distrust  had  precipitated  between  Springfield  and  Connecticut. 
The  latter  showed  a  disposition  to  lay  claim  to  lands  over  the  Massa- 
chusetts line,  and  a  veritable  tempest  was  roused  by  the  Connecticut 
court,  which  passed  an  order  that  ''  Ed:  Hopkins,  Esqr.  now  Gover- 
uour,  shall  have  the  benetitt  and  liberty  of  free  trade  at  Woronocoa 
&  att  any  place  thereabout,  uppon  the  River,  and  all  other  to  be  re- 
streyned  for  the  terme  of  seaven  yeres,  and  the  land  to  be  purchased 
for  the  Comonvvelth."  This  region,  which  is  the  site  of  AVestfield, 
was  in  the  heart  of  the  beaver  grounds.  As  soon  as  communication 
could  be  established  with  the  Bay  the  matter  was  full}^  ventilated, 
and  this  letter  to  Connecticut  was  drawn  up  by  the  Massachusetts 
General  Court :  — 

It  is  greivos  to  us  to  meete  w^i^  any  occation  tliat  might  cause  difference  to 
arise  betweene  yo''  people  &  us,  standing  in  so  near  relation  of  friendsliip,  neigh- 
V)orliood,  &  Cliristianity,  especially  :  therefor  o''  study  is  (when  any  such  arise) 
to  labor  the  removeing  of  them  upon  the  first  appearance.  Now.  so  it  is,  that 
wee   have  here  certified  that  you  have  given  leave  to  some  of  yo''^  to  set  up  a 


SPRINGFIELD.    1636-188G.  61 

trading  house  at  Woronock,  w^'^  is  known  to  bee  vathin  o""  patent,  lying  as  much 
or  more  to  the  north  then  Springfeild.  Wee  heare  also,  that  you  have  granted  to 
Mr.  Robrt  Saltonstall  a  great  quantity  of  land,  not  far  beneath  Springfeild,  wO^ 
wee  conceive  also  to  belong  to  us.  AYee  desire  you  to  consider  of  it,  as  that  w^h 
Me  apphend  to  bee  an  injury  to  us,  &  do  us  such  right  in  redresse  hereof  as  you 
would  expect  fro  us  in  a  like  case.  Wee  suppose  wee  shall  not  need  to  use  other 
argum'* ;  wee  know  to  whom  wee  wright.  Wee  have  thought  meete  upon  these 
occations  to  intimate  further  unto  you  that  wee  intend  (by  God's  help)  to  know 
the  certeinty  of  o*"  limitts,  to  the  end  that  Avee  may  neither  intrench  upon  the 
right  of  o''  neighbors,  nor  suffer  o'selves  &  o''  posterity  to  bee  deprived  of  what 
rightly  belongeth  unto  us,  Av^h  wee  hope  wilbee  without  offence  to  any;  &  upon 
this  wee  may  have  some  ground  of  p'ceediug  in  o''  further  treaty  w^^  y^y^  about 
such  things  as  may  concerne  the  welfare  of  us  all. 

Governor  Hopkius  and  jNIr.  Saltonstall  were  becoming  extensive 
traders,  and,  under  favor  of  the  Connecticut  colony,  were  in  a  fair 
way  to  isolate  Springfield  ;  and  the  above  protest  from  tlie  Bay  did  not 
appear  any  too  soon.  With  a  warehouse  built  b}^  Hopkins  at  AVoro- 
noco,  and  with  Saltonstall  enjo3'ing  grants  of  land  "  neere  to  the  falls  " 
(Enfield  Falls) ,  the  plan  to  bring  the  trade  of  the  valley  to  the  door 
of  Hartford  was  well  under  way.  Considering  the  ill-feeling  at  this 
time,  one  may  well  be  impressed  at  the  diplomacy  that  strove  to 
loosen  the  tension  of  strained  relations,  by  way  of  deference,  shown  in 
the  expression,  "  wee  know  to  whom  wee  wright." 

After  the  secession  from  Connecticut,  an  elaborate  paper  was 
drawn  up  by  the  Massachusetts  General  Court,  in  response  to  a 
humble  petition  sustaining  the  course.  The  petition  from  Springfield 
had  been  read  in  open  court  and  referred  to  a  committe,  whose  report 
in  favor  of  Springfield  was  accepted.  The  close  lines  of  argument 
on  which  this  controversy  was  drawn,  appear  in  this  reply  (June  2, 
1641)  to  the  Springfield  petition.  "Said  commission "  spoken  of 
is  the  one  giving  power  to  Koger  Ludlow,  Pynchon,  and  others,  in 
1635,  to  govern  Connecticut  for  one  3'ear ;  the  "recitall"  refers  to 
the  letter  of  the  Connecticut  commission  to  the  Massachusetts  Bay 
authorities  :  — 


Q2  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


It  is  hearby  declared,  — 

1.  That  the  said  passages  in  the  said  comission  (as  they  are  expressed  in  the 
petition)  are  misrecited,  so  as  the  true  scope  and  intention  is  thereby  altered;  as, 
1.  Whereas  the  words  in  the  comission  are,  they  are  resolved  to  transplant 
themselves,  in  the  recitall  it  is,  to  jjlant  themselves.  2.  In  the  comission  it  is 
said  that  those  noble  parsonages  have  interest  in  the  ryver,  &  by  vertue  of  their 
patent  do  require  jurisdiction  there;  in  the  recitall  it  is,  that  wee  confesse  it  be- 
longeth  to  their  jurisdiction.  3.  In  the  comission  it  is  pi'vided  this  may  not  bee 
any  pjudice  to  the  interest  of  those  noble  etc.  :  in  the  recitall  it  is,  that  nothing 
should  bee  done  or  intended  to  the  pMice  of  the  lords,  or  their  intendments. 

2.  That  the  said  comission  was  not  granted  upon  any  intent  either  to  dismise 
the  psons  fro  us,  or  to  determine  anything  about  the  limits  of  jurisdiction,  the 
interest  of  the  lands  &  o'"  owne  limits  being  as  then  unknowne ;  tlieref ore  it  Avas 
granted  onely  for  one  yeare ;  &  it  ma}^  rather  appeare,  by  o""  granting  such  a 
comission,  &  thier  accepting  of  it,  as  also  that  clause,  viz.  Till  some  otlier  course 
were  taken,  by  mutuall  consent,  etc.  that  wee  intended  to  reserve  an  interest 
there  upon  the  ryver,  &  that  themselves  also  intended  to  stand  to  the  condition  of 
the  first  licence  of  dejjarture  given  to  the  most  of  them,  W^''  was,  tliat  they  should 
remaine  still  of  o''  body. 

3.  For  those  argumts  w^'^  tliey  draw  from  those  articles  certified  in  the  peti- 
tion, wee  answer,  that  they  Avere  proijounded  and  drawen  out  onely  by  some  of 
the  magistrats  of  each  party  without  any  order  or  alowance  of  this  Court ;  and 
therefore  (whatsoever  those  magistrats  might  intend  thereby)  the  intend  of  the 
Court  cannot  be  gathered  from  anything  therein ;  but  in  those  articles  w<^'^  Avere 
agitated  and  brought  to  some  issue  in  o'  Genrall  Court,  in  the  4^''  mo  1638,  when 
their  commissioners  Avere  present,  Springfeild,  then  called  AgaAvam  Avas  claymed 
by  the  Court  (though  by  occasion  of  some  private  speach  &c)  to  belong  to  us ; 
and  it  was  then  agreed  by  the  Court,  and  yielded  unto  by  their  commissioners 
that  so  much  of  the  ryver  of  Conecte'^"'  as  should  fall  w^''  the  line  of  o""  patent 
should  continew  Avithin  our  jurisdiction  (and  it  was  then  taken  for  granted  that 
Springfeild  Avould  fall  to  us  Avithout  question)  and  those  articles  had  then  beene 
fully  agreed  on  betAveene  the  Court  and  their  commission'*,  had  there  not  beene 
some  question  about  them  granting  us  free  passage  up  the  river,  in  regard  of  the 
lords'  interest  (as  they  alledged). 

It  is  noAv  hearby  ordered,  that  Willi:  Pinchen,  gent,  for  this  yeare  shall  hear- 
by  have  full  power  and  authority  to  govern  the  inhabitants  at  Springfeild ;  and  to 
heare  and  determine  all  causes  and  offenses,  both  civill  and  criminall,  that  reach 
not  to  life,  limbs  or  banishment  according  to  tlie  lawes  lieare  established,  etc. 


SPRIXGFIELD,    1636-1SS6.  63 


This  decree  stood  practically  imdisputed,  but  it  left  the  question 
of  river  commerce  opeu  as  a  fruitful  source  of  further  contention . 
During  the  two  years  subsequent  to  Springfield's  declaration  of  in- 
dependence from  Connecticut,  it  had  little  connection  with  the  Bay. 
Its  position  had  been  unique  ;  it  was  not  included  in  an}-  tax-rates 
levied  at  Boston,  and  was  not  represented  at  the  General  Court  by 
deputies  or  by  the  presence  of  a  magistrate.  Mr.  Pynchon  was  not 
elected  an  assistant  until  1643,  and  there  is  no  evidence  that  he  at- 
tended court  even  that  year.  Springfield  did  not  figure  in  the  official 
list  of  towns  included  in  the  four  shires  of  Massachusetts. 

Mr.  Pynchon  continued  to  be  annually  reelected  an  assistant  from 
KMo  until  the  troublous  times  of  1650.  Mr.  P3'nchon  w^as  also 
regularly  chosen  magistrate,  as  appears  by  this  vote,  passed  in 
September,   1643:  — 

Commission  was  granted  Mr.  Willi:  Pincheon,  gent.,  for  this  yenv  ensuing,  & 
till  y*"  Co't  take  further  order,  that  hearby  hee  shall  have  full  power  to  goVne, 
according  to  former  order  in  IG-tl,  onely  to  try  causes  by  a  jury  of  6  men,  if  12 
cannot  conveniently  bee  had. 

Mr.  Pj^nchon  had  not  abandoned  the  beaver  trade.  He  paid  a 
license  to  the  General  Court  for  special  trading  privileges.  One 
would  say  there  had  been  some  discussion  about  the  amount  of  the 
license  from  this  order  at  the  September  session  of  1643  at  Boston  : 
"  Mr.  Pinchen  is  ordered  to  pay  for  his  beaver  trade  from  the  time 
of  the  runing  of  the  line."  This  evidently  refers  to  the  line  betw^een 
the  two  colonies,  which  was  shortly  after  the  order  of  1641. 

For  some  reason  still  unexplained,  it  was  not  until  the  latter  part  of 
1647  that  Springfield  was  included  in  any  of  the  official  lists  of 
Massachusetts  towns,  and  this,  curiously  enough,  was  for  brands  on 
horses  for  each  town,  "ordered  to  be  set  upou  one  of  y^  nere 
q^'trs."  There  wxn*e  five  towns  in  the  colony  then  beginning  with 
"•  S,"  and  the  Springfield  brand  was  a  monogram  composed  of  a 
small  "  s"  and  "  p." 


64  SPRINGFIELD,    1 636-1886. 


Mr.  Pynchou's  influence  over  the  local  Indians  was  never  lost, 
although  he  did  not  have  an  exalted  idea  of  the  stability  of  the 
savage.  In  a  letter  to  Governor  Winthrop  about  this  time,  he 
says  :  — 

My  advise  is  that  neather  you  nor  the  river  [Connecticut]  should  do  anytliing 
else  but  use  dilatory  meanes,  for  I  perceive  the  nature  of  the  Indians  is  uppon 
every  Hke  occasion  to  be  much  provoked  with  the  desyer  of  revenge,  but  if 
meanes  of  delay  be  used  but  a  while,  the  edge  of  their  revengeful  desyer  will 
soon  be  cooled.  I  perceive  they  are  carefull  of  this,  not  to  begin  first  with  the 
English,  but  they  make  account,  if  the  English  begin  first  with  them,  to  doe  great 
matters. 

Thanks  to  Mr.  Pynchon's  sagacity,  the  Indian  portion  of  our 
narrative  is  uneventful  for  some  years.  The  relations  of  the  Con- 
necticut towns  with  the  savages  were  not  so  assuring  at  this  time. 
A  short  time  before  this  letter  of  Mr.  Pynchon,  the  General  Court 
at  Hartford  (September,  1G42)  began  an  enactment  with  the  words, 
'^  Forasmuch  as  the  Indians  growe  insolent  and  combyne  themselves 
togather." 

During  the  years  1640-43  a  dozen  or  more  new  men  arrived 
at  Springfield,  the  most  notable  of  whom  being  Deacon  Samuel 
Chapin  and  Elizur  Holyoke.  There  were  also  in  this  list  Thomas 
Cooper,  Rowland  and  Thomas  Stebbins,  and  William  Warriner. 
Samuel  Chapin  became  very  prominent  both  in  town  and  church.  A 
man  of  affairs  and  a  typical  Puritan,  he  was  frequently  made  ;-^elect- 
man,  held  positions  of  trust,  and  was  the  founder  of  a  line  of 
deacons  running  even  to  our  day.  Thomas  Cooper  also  was  a 
useful  man,  a  good  fighter,  and  was  held  in  great  esteem  in  this 
valley.  His  personal  influence  witli  the  natives  was  great,  and 
it  was  his  over-confidence  in  their  fidelity  to  Springfield  which 
eventually  cost  him  his  life.  EHzur  Holyoke  was  a  young  man,  but 
he  soon  developed  the  sterling  qualities  that  have  been  transmitted 
to  a  family  of  great  importance  in  New  England. 

The  second  immigration  to  Springfield  during  this  period  was  the 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  (J5 


determiuing  event  in  our  plantation  history.  The  first  arrivals  out- 
side of  Mr.  Pyncheon's  immediate  family  and  personal  friends  were 
ignorant  and  adventurous.  Both  John  Cable  and  John  Burr,  as  we 
have  seen,  soon  gave  up  the  struggle  and  drifted  down  the  river,  and 
new  blood  was  an  imperative  necessity. 

This  period  was  full  of  the  smaller  complications  of  pioneer 
life,  and  was,  upon  the  whole,  anything  but  propitious.  It  is 
recorded  in  February,  1640,  that  Goody  Gregory,  the  wife  of 
Henry  Gregory,  who  had  only  been  connected  with  the  settlement 
about  a  year,  was  accused  by  John  Woodcock  of  ''swearing  before 
God  I  could  break  thy  head."  She  did  not  attempt  any  defence, 
and  was  fined  12c/.,  in  default  of  which  she  was  to  sit  three  hours 
in  the  stocks.  The  fine  was  much  below^  the  amount  prescribed  in 
the  colonial  laws  for  this  offence.  One  of  the  new  arrivals,  Samuel 
Hubbard,  was  licensed  to  keep  an  ordinary,  the  vote  being  passed 
in  town  meeting.  He  was  also  commissioned  to  ^'  lay  out  all  lotts" 
in  the  plantation.  John  Leonard  (March,  1640)  was  appointed 
surveyor  to  "  See  y^  high  wayes  cleered  and  kept  m  repayer  of  all 
stubbs  sawpitts  or  tymber."  Henry  Smith  and  Thomas  Mirrick  were 
given  power  (April,  1640)  "to  restrayne  y^  Indians  from  breaking 
up  any  new  grownde  or  from  planting  any  y^  was  broaken  up  y« 
last  yeare,  alsoe  for  y^'  swampe  that  is  in  y^  neck  they  are  to  pitch 
up  stakes  y'  soe  y*^  Indians  may  be  limited  &  restrayned  from  enlarg- 
ing y"^selves  in  y^  swamp.  Mr.  Moxou  is  desired  to  joyne  witli  you 
in  this  acte."  The  importance  of  the  marsh  was  further  magnified 
by  the  opening  of  a  highway  in  the  spring  of  1640  across  "  y^ 
hessekey  meddowe  betwixt  Richard  Everits  Lott  &  y'  w^'^  was 
Thomas  Woodford  Lott  the  way  to  be  2  rod  in  bredth."  This,  we 
take  it,  was  State  street.  It  had  been  voted,  in  1638,  that  laud 
for  a  highway  be  reserved  "out  of  the  Marish  ground  of  Thomas 
Woodford's  Lott." 

The    provision   about  canoe   trees   was   broadened   in   1640  by  an 
order  that  none  should  be  bold  to  parties  outside  the  plantation.      In 


GQ  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6. 

December,  we  find  tluit  ''There  is  leave  gninted  to  Mr.  IIoU}^- 
oke,  William  Wai-rener  &  Henry  Burt  to  seeke  oat  for  y'  use  each 
of  them  a  Caunoe  Tree."  Warriner  made  bad  use  of  this  permit, 
and  was  subsequently  fined  for  selling  his  canoe.  In  1641  orders 
were  passed  requiring  fire  ladders  with  "16  rungs  or  steps. at  least" 
at  each  house,  and  against  carrying  fire  uncovered  through  the 
streets.  It  was  during  this  year  that  the  irrepressible  John  Wood- 
cock scored  a  nominal  victory  over  Henry  Gregory  in  two  suits  for 
slander  about  some  hogs,  the  damages  being  40-s.  and  costs.  Upon 
hearing  the  award  Gregory  was  very  indignant  at  the  figures,  and 
exclaimed :  '"  I  marvel  with  what  conscience  the  jurj^  can  give 
such  damages  ;  seeinge  in  the  case  of  John  Searles  I  had  of  him  but 
twenty  shillings  for  three  slanders."  Mr.  Moxon  interfered,  charg- 
ing Gregory  to  "take  heed  I  take  heed  I "  This  case  was  tried 
before  a  jury  of  six,  with  Mr.  Pynchon  as  magistrate  ;  and  in  a 
community  where  the  means  of  diversion  were  few,  Pyuchon's  room 
probably  contained  a  goodly  number  of  absorbed  spectators.  The 
informality  which  permitted  the  interference  of  the  minister  to  pro- 
tect judge  and  jury  from  the  outburst  of  an  angry  suitor-at-law  is 
only  equalled  in  interest  to  us  by  the  effect  of  the  admonition  upon 
the  offender.  He  ceased  complaining  that  the  market  value  of 
scandals   had  gone   up,  and   humbly   acknowledged   his   fault. 

Running  along  for  some  years  appear  evidences  of  a  close  attention 
to  business  and  labor.  On  the  part  of  the  town  wages  were  re- 
peatedly changed  to  meet  the  conditions.     In  1642  we  find  that  — 

It  is  ordered  by  y^'  Joynt  consent  of  y^  Inhabitants  of  y*^  Plantation  for  y*^ 
orderinge  of  Sayers  wages  that  workmen  of  y*  nature  shall  sawe  henceforth  at  3s 
8d  per  for  boards  &  4s  5d  p  for  slitworke,  y^  tymber  to  be  brought  home  toy«^ 
pit  hewen  &  made  ready  &  if  y*^  sd  workmen  shall  sawe  tymber  &  sell  y"^  boards 
they  shall  not  exceed  y^  price  of  6s  6d  p  pvided  y*  if  y*^  Pit  be  made  within  y 
space  of  distance  y^  is  betwixt  Mr  Pynchon's  house  &  Sam:  Wrights  it  shall  be 
accounted  as  in  y*"  towne. 

A  little  later  is  this  provision  :  — 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  57 


Whereas  ther  was  a  clawse  in  a  former  order  dated  December  24,  1641,  alow- 
inge  husbandmen  or  ordinary  laborers  for  4  montlis  in  y-  winter  pt  of  y^  yeare 
18d  p  day  it  is  therefore  y^  day  above  so  ordered  by  ye  generall  voate  yt  all  such 
husbandman  or  laborers  shall  not  exceede  16d  p  day  for  tyme  to  come  &  to 
Avorke  8  bowers  as  in  y  former  order  exp'"essed. 

These  towu  acts  remind  one  of  the  McFingal  couplet : 

"  Or  triumphs  at  town  meeting  made 
On  passing  votes  to  regulate  trade." 

One  of  the  first  baildiugs  put  up  after  the  pioneers  had  been 
housed  was  a  saw-mill  on  Mill  river,  a  temporary  bridge  being 
thrown  across  the  stream.  In  the  spring  of  1643  this  was  substi- 
tuted for  a  more  substantial  one.  The  order  was  passed  at  the 
March  meetmg  :  — 

It  is  ordered  that  there  shall  be  a  bridge  &  high  way  made  to  ye  mill  for  ye 
passadge  of  Carts  &  Cattell  those  r  ^^^ere  wantinge  in  y^  worke  of  y-  former 
])ridge  to  make  it  up  in  ye  &  then  to  goe  through  ye  towne  every  man  his  day  & 
what  is  done  by  every  man  to  he  kept  on  account  &  to  be  made  even  when  they 
make  ye  Avay  over  }'e  meddowe. 

In  January,  1(542,  a  second  division  of  planting-ground  was 
decreed.  The  apportionments  ^' p'vided  that  those  y' have  broaken 
up  ground  there  shall  have  allowance  for  it  as  2  indifferent  men 
shall  Judge  equall.  Single  persons  are  to  have  8  rod  in  bredth 
maryed  psons  10  rod  in  bredth,  bigger  familys  12  rod  to  begin 
upward  at  y^  edge  of  y«  hill  "  (Chestnut  street) .      Here  i«  the  list :  ~ 

Rod  Bredth 

John  Woodcock  S 

Wid:   Searle  10 

Robrt  Ashly  08 

John  Deeble  OS 

Rowl:   Stebbiues  10 

Tho:   Stebbiues  8 


68  SPRIXGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


Rod  bredth. 

Sam:   Hubbard 

10 

Tho:   Mirack 

10 

Sam:   Wright 

10 

Hen:  Burt 

12 

Hen:   Smith 

20   10  of  wch  is  for  Mr.  :\Ioxon 

Will :  Warener 

10 

Kich:   Sikes 

10 

Wid:   Horton 

10 

John  Leonard 

10 

Hen:   Grigory 

8 

Eliz:  Hollyoke 

10 

One  year  later  (Jan.  26,  1643),  Henry  Smith,  Elizur  Holyoke, 
Henry  Burt,  Samnel  Cbapin,  Richard  Sikes,  and  Thomas  Mirrick 
were  chosen  to  lay  out  the  lands,  "both  of  upland  and  meddowe  on 
y^  other  side  of  y""  greate  river  where  y^  Indians  live  and  all  y'' 
meddowe  on  Aggawam  soe  far  as  shall  amount  to  an  hundred  & 
fifty  acres,  alottinge  to  every  p'sent  Inhabitant  his  p'portion  of  these 
meddowe  grounds  and  in  y"  uplande  for  'M)  familyes  of  plantuige 
ground  to  be  distributed  to  every  pson  his  pportionable  quantity  as 
shall  be  by  y*"  chosen  psons  thought  sutable  to  y''  psons  et  estates 
of  y'^  psent  Inhabitants,  soe  farr  as  y^'  discresion  of  y'"  s'^  psons 
shall  lead  y'"."  It  was  also  voted  "  y'  foresd  6  men  shall  see  Mr. 
Pynchon  satisfyd  for  f  purchas  of  y"^  lands  of  y"  Plantation  before 
any  man  is  possessed  of  them."  This  allotment  was  finally  com- 
pleted and  reported  to  the  town  April  6,  1643.     The  record  reads  :  — 

A  list  of  y  Alotraents  of  planting  lotts  as  they  Avere  cast  wti'  ye  order  how 
men  doe  fall,  beginniuge  at  y  ends  of  y'  SO  rod  lotts  y^  face  to  y^  greate  River 
Mr.  Moxon  is  to  have  yf  first  by  consent  of  y'  Plantation. 


Ac- res. 

.Mr  :\[oxon 

l.s 

Tho:    Cooper 

~, 

Tho:   Steb1)ins 

ri 

lott 


2  lott 


SPRINGFIELD, 

1636-1886. 

Acres. 

Tho:   Stebbins 

74 

Good  Bridgmau 

11 

Sam:   Cliapen 

104 

Kich  Sikes 

08 

Kowl;   Stebbins 

11 

Sam   Hubbard 

05 

Eli:   Hollyok 

8-t 

Hen:   Burt 

lot 

^Ir  Pynclion 

80 

Kobt   Ashly 

17 

Jno  Leonard 

09 

Sam:   Hubbard 

m 

Will:   AVarener 

8i 

Alex:   Edwards 

11 

Hen:   Smith 

\oh 

Tho:   Mirack 

121 

Jon  Dover 

05 

Sam:   Wright 

131 

Jno  Deeble 

01 

Roger  Prichard 

05 

69 


This  allotment  was  soon  •'  disanulled  agayne."  One  cause  of 
trouble  may  have  been  the  taking  into  consideration  the  estates  and 
importance  of  the  inhabitants  in  apportioning  these  lands.  The 
wonder  is  that  this  rule  worked  at  all.  There  are  certain  expressions 
occurring  a  little  latef,  such  as,  "  as  the  lotts  doe  fall,"  which  lead  to 
the  belief  that  the  planters  finally  '•  drew  cuts,"  as  the  boys  say,  for 
their  laud  ;  but  certainly  in  this  year  the  rule  was  "  Unto  him  that 
hath  shall  be  given."  On  the  page  following  the  above-given  list  are 
two  apportionments  which  seem  to  have  stood  the  test  of  the  ages. 
They  are  as  follows  :  — 


Lots  casts  for  meddow  grownd  on  Agawam  side  wliere  is  2  pts  of  y  quantity 
to  be  divided. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1 630-1886. 


2  lot 


2  lot 


Acres. 

Mr  Moxon 

8 

Ell:   Holyoke 

14 

Mr  Pynchon 

32     (alowance  8  acres) 

"Will   Wareiier 

02     2  acres 

Sam:   llul)bar(l 

01 

Rich  Sikes 

01 

Hen   Smith 

17 

Sam:  AVright 

n 

Tho:   Mirack 

04 

Rowl:   Stebbins 

024 

Th:  Stebbins 

014 

Jno.  Dober 

01 

J:   Bridgman 

03 

Alex:  EdAvards 

03 

Jno:   Deeble 

01 

Jno:  Leonard 

02 

Hen:  Burt 

02 

Sam:   Chapen 

01 

Ro:  Ashly 

04^ 

Tho:  Cooper 

02 

Tho:   Stebins 

01 

Sam:   Hubbard 

02 

108 


Letts  on  ye  other  side  of  y'^  greate  river  for  meddow 

Acres. 

Rowl:   Stebbins  14 

Rich:   Sikes  1 

Will:  AVarener  1 

Robt:   Ashly  2\ 

Mr  Pynchon  16^ 

Tho:   Cooper  01 

Hen:   Burt  01^ 

Alex:   Edwards  014 

Sara:  Hubbard  2  lot  004 

Tho:   Stebbins  2  lot  00| 

John  Leonard  01^ 


SPRINGFIELD, 

1636-1 SS  6. 

Acre:?. 

Sam:   Hul)bar(l 

01 

Hen:   Smith 

01) 

J:  Bridgman 

02.^ 

Jno:  Deeble 

01 

Tho:   Mirack 

01^ 

Jno.  Dober 

oo.i 

Sam:  Wright 

ou 

Tho:   Stebbins 

00.^ 

Ell:  Holyoke 

07 

Sam:   Chapen 

00^ 

Mr  Moxon 

04 

71 


57^ 

The  year  1640  closed  with  Spriugfield's  first  recorded  marriage,  the 
new  arrival,  Eliziir  Holyoke,  leading  to  the  altar  ^lary  Pynchon, 
daughter  of  AVilliam  Pynchon.  Holyoke  was  a  man  of  no  ordinary 
force  of  character,  and  the  event  must  have  made  an  impression  upon 
the  swains  of  the  valley.  AVithin  a  few^  months  after  his  arrival  he  had 
won  the  most  lovely  maiden  of  her  day,  if  tradition  is  accepted, 
and  the  match  carried  with  it  sundry  considerations  of  a  worldly 
nature.  Holyoke  was  about  twenty- two  years  of  age.  He  had  been 
born  near  ••Tamvrorth  Tower  and  town,"  in  Warwickshire,  Eng., 
and  had  come  to  New  England  with  his  father,  Edward  Holyoke. 
His  marriage  was  followed  Iw  the  assignment  of  a  very  desirable  lot 
(between  AVorthington  and  Bridge  streets).  His  father-in-law's  large 
lot  bounded  him  on  the  north,  and  Henry  Smith,  who  had  married 
Ann  Pynchon  before  the  settlement  of  Springfield,  was  on  the  south. 
Holyoke  also  received,  according  to  custom,  allotments  of  meadow 
and  upland  opposite  his  lot  on  the  east  side  of  Main  street,  as  well 
as  land  on  the  w^est  side  of  the  Connecticut,  and  planting-grounds 
elsewhere.  It  was  a  happy  event,  and  hundreds  of  descendants  iu 
America  hold  in  reverence  the  Elizur  and  ^lary  Holyoke,  who,  in  a 
d;irk  hour  of  SpringfiekVs  history,  refused  to  return  to  England  and 


72  SPRINGFIELD,    163G-1886. 


give  up  the  struggle  for  mastery  iu  this  valley.  Their  bones  now 
rest  iu  our  beautiful  cemetery.  It  is  well  written  upon  Mary 
Holyoke's   tombstone  :  — 

Shee  yt  lyes  lieere  was  while  she  stood 
A  very  glory  of  womanhood. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

]P,44-1()45. 

The  First  Board  of  Selectmen.  —  Centralization.  — Mr.  Moxon's  Ministiy.  —  The  First 
Meeting--Hoiise.  -  A  Long  Sermon. —A  Tax-List.  — Fencing  House-Lots.  — The 
"  Longe  Meddowe."  —  Eefiisal  to  make  Fences.  —Planting-Grounds  on  the  West  Side- 
—  Social  Caste.  — Marriages  of  Hugh  Parsons  and  of  John  Pynchon. 

The  provisional  and  experimental  elements  begin  to  give  wa}^  to  a 
certain  regularity  in  the  methods  of  government.  In  September, 
1614,  the  town-meeting  took  the  important  step  of  intrusting  the 
management  of  affairs  to  a  committee.  For  eight  years  the  town  had 
been  governed  without  selectmen. 

The  names  of  the  first  board  were  :  Henry  Smith,  Thomas 
Cooper,  Samuel  Chapin,  Eichard  Sikes,  and  Henry  Burt.  These 
townsmen  were  given  power  for  one  year  to  "  prevent  an37thing  they 
shall  judge  to  be  to  y*^  damage  of  y"  Towne,  or  to  order  anything 
they  shall  judge  to  be  for  y"^  good  of  y^'  town  ;  &  in  these  affairs  they 
shall  have  power  for  a  yeers  space  ;  "  to  these  five  or  any  three  of  them 
was  given  power  to  "  serv  complaintes,  to  Arbitrate  controversies,  to 
lay  out  high  waves,  to  make  Bridges,  to  repayer  High  waies,  espe- 
cially to  order  y*^  making  of  y^  way  over  y'^  Marshie  meddow,  to  se  to 
y^^  scowering  y^'  ditches,  &  to  y*^  killing  of  wolves,  &  to  y'  training  of 
y«  children  in  some  good  caling,  or  any  other  thing  they  shall  judge 
to  be  y*"  p'fitt  of  y*"  Towne." 

The  new  selectmen,  unless  we  except  Henry  Smith,  were  compara- 
tively young  and  poor,  so  far  as  having  any  estate,  independent  of 
the  lands  voted  them  by  the  town,  was  concerned.  The  placing  of  so 
much  discretionary  power  in  the  hands  of  any  set  of  men  shows  the 
working  of  a  tendency  that  grew  rapidly  and  naturally  out  of  the  prin- 


74  SPRINGFIELD,    2GS6~1SS6. 

ciples  of  democracy,  under  the  most  favorable  conditions  known  in 
history.  The  masses  may  protest  against  centralizing  the  functions 
of  government ;  but  when  they  assume  those  functions  themselves, 
the  very  first  tendency  that  is  developed  is  this  self-same  drift  toward 
the  centre. 

Town  rates  in  164.5  were  based  upon  house-lots  onl}-.  The  town 
met  the  last  Thursday  in  each  month,  and  notices  of  special  meetings 
given  on  lecture  day  were  considered  legal  warnings.  The  penalty  for 
absence,  or  for  leaving  town-meetings  during  the  session  without  a 
permit,  was  "  halfe  a  bushell  of  Indian  corne  for  every  such  defect." 
Numberless  instances  of  caution  on  the  part  of  these  primitive 
publicists  abound  in  tlie  record-books.  Every  householder  was  re- 
quired to  '^  carefully  attend  y  sweepinge  of  his  chmmey  once  every 
month  for  y'^  winter  tyme,  and  once  in  two  months  in  y""  summer 
tyme."  If  a  man  neglected  this  injunction,  the  town  swept  the 
chimney  for  him  at  his  expense. 

Mr.  Moxon's  ministry  had  proved  a  great  success.  Not  that  he 
was  notably  a  man  of  parts,  but  he  seemed  to  have  just  the  elements 
which  kept  iii  check  the  uneasy  spirits  that  Tvere  inevitably  drawn  into 
adventuresome  enterprises  of  this  sort.  He  was  educated  at  Cam- 
bridge University,  Eng.,  graduating  from  Sidney  College  in  1623,  and 
he  was  at  Dorchester  for  a  while  before  moving  to  Springfield. 

There  is  a  passage  in  a  letter  from  Mr.  Pynchon  to  Governor  Win- 
throp,  written  in  1644,  that  has  a  genuine  flavor  of  devout  faith  in  the 
cause  of  the  gospel,  winch  is  added  here  the  more  readily  because 
the  concerns  of  business  and  trade  have  been  connected  so  continu- 
ously with  Pynchon's  name,  that  one  might  fancy  that  his  grand  mo- 
tive in  coming  to  New  England  was  simply  to  pluck  plums  of  gold. 
He  says  :  "I  praise  God  we  are  all  in  good  health  e^-  in  peace  in  our 
plantation ;  e^  the  Lord  hath  added  some  o  or  4  yoiige  men  out 
of  the  River,  that  are  godly,  to  us  lately  :  &  the  Lord  has  greateiy 
blessed  M'.  3Ioxon's  ministry,  to  the  conversion  of  nianv  soules  that 
are  lately  added  to  our  church,  c<:  hetherto  the  Lord  hath  preserved 


SPRINGFIELD,    16S6-1SSG. 


us  in  peace  from  enimies."  Mr.  P3^nclioii,  in  simple  faith,  waited  for 
the  grace  of  God  to  have  its  perfect  work  upon  such  of  his  associates 
as  were  not  members  of  the  church  ;  we  know  how  the}^  of  the  Bay 
were  continually  giving  the  divine  agency  an  impetus  by  way  of 
punishments  visited  upon  those  not  disposed  to  hasten  into  the  fold. 
The  Boston  authorities,  in  their  attempt  to  stamp  out  heresy  by  clos- 
ing the  mouth  of  P^rror,  had  onl}'  invited  an  ill-feeling  which  often 
came  out  at  the  public  meetings,  and  sometimes  found  expression  in 
harsh  words  against  the  ministers  themselves.  For  these  offences  a 
fine  was  imposed,  and  upon  a  repetition  of  the  same  it  was  decreed 
that  the  offender  should  stand  "  two  howers  openly  upon  a  blocke  of 
fower  foote  high  on  a  lecture  day,  with  a  paper  fixed  on  his  breast 
with  this  :  A  AVanton  Gospellek,  written  m  capitall  letters,  y*  others 
may  feare  &  be  ashamed  of  breaking  out  into  the  like  wickedness." 
This  law  was  over  Springfield  like  other  ^Massachusetts  towns,  but  it 
is  not  known  that  the  plantation  took  advantage  of  its  privileges. 

Probabh'  nothing  in  tlie  history  of  the  plantation  caused  deeper  grat- 
ification than  the  definite  prospect  of  owning  a  house  of  worship,  —  not 
thatched  like  maii}^  of  the  houses  on  the  street,  but  a  veritable  framed 
and  windowed  temple  in  the  wilderness.  It  was  in  February,  164.3, 
that  the  contract  was  made  in  open  town-meeting  for  the  building  of 
the  first  Springfield  meeting-house.  Each  inhabitant  was  to  furnish 
twenty-eight  days'  work,  "  when  he  shall  be  required  by  him  who  shall 
undertake  y*"  buildinge  of  it."  No  inhabitant  could  be  forced  to  work 
more  than  six  consecutive  days.  Thomas  Cooper  contracted  with  the 
town  for  the  Avork,  and  it  was  satisfactoril}^  performed.  The  building 
was  40  X  2;3  feet  in  size,  "  9  foote  betwixt  joynts,  double  studded," 
and  had  two  large  windows  on  either  side,  and  a  smaller  window  at 
each  end.  There  was  a  large  door  on  the  south  side,  and  two  smaller 
doors  elsewhere.  Joists  were  laid  for  a  gallery  when  it  could  be  af- 
forded. The  roof  was  shingled,  and  was  broken  by  two  towers,  one 
for  a  bell  and  one  for  a  "•  watch-howse."  The  underpinning  was 
stone  "  dawbed  "  in   the  old  style.     Cooper   received   "fower  score 


76  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

powiids,"  which  was  paid  in  quarterly  iiistahnents  of  '^  wheate,  pease, 
porke,  wampain,  deptes,"  and  hibor  above  the  twenty-eight  days  re- 
quired of  each  inhabitant.  Mr.  Cooper  had  until  Septeniber,  1646,  to 
fulfil  this  contract,  but  the  last  stroke  was  done  by  the  March  previous. 
AVilliani  Pynchon  and  Henry  Smith  signed  in  February,  1644,  this 
document :  — 

AcL'ordinge  to  trust  imposed  on  us,  the  party s  undernamed  h\  y  plantation  :  we 
have  treated  w^u  Tliomas  Stebbins  and  ffrancis  Ball,  for  the  purchas  of  a  parsell 
of  grownd  of  them  in  theyre  house  lotts  next  the  river.  W^'i  ffrancis  Ball  we 
have  agreed  for  one  acre  of  grownd.  and  to  give  him  two  acres  for  it,  in  recom- 
pense, in  hi8  second  lott  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  :  with  Thomas  Stebbines  we 
have  agreed  for  one  acre  and  an  halfe,  of  w^ii  Ave  have  conditioned  to  have  2 
rod  in  bredth  to  y^  meeting  house  :  and  in  recompense  of  this  acre  »&  halfe,  Ave 
agree  to  give  him  3  acres  of  land  adjoyning  to  his  third  greate  lott  on  y-'  other  side 
of  y^'  greate  river. 

We  do  not  know  of  any  early  local  scene  that  so  challenges  our 
curiosity  and  cordial  sympathy  as  this  when  the  pioneers  gathered  in 
their  new  house,  with  :Mr.  Pynchon  sitting  under  the  pulpit  and  Mr. 
Moxon  offering  thanks  ;  while  the  voice  of  praise  rose  from  a  full- 
hearted  though  small  congregation.  Thei'e  can  be  counted  in  that  mem- 
orable gathering  no  less  than  sixteen  men,  founders  of  families,  and 
from  them  have  come  thousands  of  descendants,  through  each  line  of 
which  run  the  distinctive  traits  of  mind  and  heart  that  were  the  mak- 
ing of  Springfield.  It  had  l)een  said  at  Boston  and  it  had  been  said 
at  Hartford  tiiat  the  Agawam  settlement  wouJd  not  hold  out ;  and  it 
did  take  nearly  a  decade  of  lonely  toil  to  secure  a  footing. 

]Mr.  Moxon's  connection  with  tlie  witch  excitement  of  Springfield 
has  led  to  the  erroneous  conclusion  that  he  was  a  weak  and  a  super- 
stitious person.  Those  who  have  deciphered  his  sermons  and  have 
examined  the  meagre  traces  ot  liis  teachings  come  to  a  far  different 
conclusion.  He  was  what  might  be  called  an  exhaustive  preacher. 
He  alwa3's  followed  out  an  elaborate  scheme  of  sermonizing,  covering 
about  all  that  could  be  said  upon  his  subject,  dividing  and  subdividing 


SPRING  FIELD,    1636-1886.  11 


his  topic  with  reckless  prodigality  of  time  ;  and,  if  the  sermon  hour 
closed  before  the  sermon  did,  he  simply  announced  that  the  discourse 
would  be  continued  upon  the  Sabbath  following.  It  had  happened 
back  in  1640,  when  William  Pynchon  was  at  loggerheads  with  the 
Windsor  church,  and  the  heavens  hung  low  witli  clouds  spiritual  and 
temporal,  that  he  felt  called  upon  to  fortify  the  position  of  his  little 
congregation  by  the  text :  "  Comfort  your  hearts,  and  stablish  you  in 
every  good  word  and  work"  (2  Thess.  ii,  17).  Here  was  a  vast 
subject.  It  touclied  both  the  doctrine  and  deeds  of  men.  Loyalty 
to  the  gospel,  the  fate  of  individual  souls,  and  the  future  of  the  plan- 
tation itself  seemed  to  hang  upon  the  voice  from  the  pulpit.  He  began 
that  sermon  P\dn'uary  IG,  and  finished  it  March  15,  wheu  the  church 
probably  felt  refreshed  in  more  senses  than  one.  His  exhortation  to 
be  "  settled  in  well  doing  and  to  be  stable  in  sound  doctrine  "  was 
hammered  into  the  mettle  of  ever}'  soul  present. 

The  nature  of  the  satisfaction  granted  to  .Air.  Pynchon  for  the  sup- 
plementary purchase  of  the  Indians  of  land  on  the  banks  of  the 
Agawam  seems  to  be  furnished  by  the  following  rating,  recorded  May 
6,  1644.  It  was  Mr.  Pynchon's  habit  to  furnish  a  large  percentage  of 
the  funds  necessary  for  any  project  of  public  concern,  and  then  later 
to  secure  himself  by  a  formal  rating,  which,  by  the  way,  was  not  always 
paid  promptly. 

£ 

Mr:  Pynchon  -t 

Mr:  Moxon  1 

Ell:  Holyoke  2 

Tlio:  Cooper  0 

Hen:  Smith  - 

Sam:  Chapen  0 

John  Dober  0 

Kich:   Sykes  0 

Will:   Warener  0 

Tho:   Stebbines  0 

Era:   Ball  0 

Robt:   Ashlv  0 


s 

d 

08 

08 

01 

08 

00 

00 

11 

00 

0(5 

00 

O.s 

10 

07 

iM 

01) 

{Yl 

10 

0(1 

08 

00 

07 

06 

15 

00 

78 


SPRTXGFIELD,    2636-2886. 


Jno:  Leonard 
Tho:   Mirack 
James  Bridgeman 
Alex:   Edwards 
Sam:   Hubbard 
Jno:   Beeble 
Morgan  John 
liowl:   Stebbines 
8am:   Write 
Henrv  Burt 
Jno:   Harman 
Kodger  Prichard 


£ 

s 

d 

0 

lu 

04 

0 

18 

03 

() 

12 

0(J 

() 

11 

10 

0 

10 

09 

0 

8 

05 

0 

3 

00 

u 

11 

OG 

<) 

1L> 

05 

0 

12 

07 

0 

OS 

10 

() 

() 

06 

Total! 


19 


18 


0-1 


For  some  reason  to  us  unknown  this  nione}^  was  not  paid,  and  in 
January,  1647,  tlie  rating  was  declared  null  and  void.  In  the  spring 
of  1644  we  find  this  record:  '^  It  is  ordered  /  those  Lotts  from 
Roger  Prichards  downward  shall  have  theyr  2d  alotments  below  Agga- 
w^an  River  mouth  every  man  to  have  5  acres  apeice  to  runn  m  length  80 
rodd  theyr  lotts  to  abutt  agaynst  y^  greate  river." 

Shortly  after  this  it  was  specially  ordered  that  Samuel  Chapin  should 
have  his  second  allotment  next  to  Mr.  Holyoke,  and  that  John  Dober 
should  have  the  lot  next  below  him.  Thomas  Cooper's  second  lot 
abutted  his  old  one,  and  next  aboxe  came  Rogei- Prichard's  second  lot. 

The  settlement  of  disputes  by  the  '^  arbitrament  of  two  Indifferent 
men  "  relieved  the  magistrate  of  nmch  labor,  but  the  town-meeting 
continued  to  feel  the  burdens  of  its  fence  and  land  supervision.  In 
September,  1645,  it  was  voted  :  — 


It  is  also  further  ordered,  that  if  any  neighbor  from  ffrancis  Balls  lott  to 
Goodman  Coolys  shall  desire  to  encdose  his  yard  w^^'  a  garden  or  an  orchard  : 
if  his  next  neighbor  refuse  to  Joyne  for  ye  one  half  of  the  s'l  fence  :  he  may 
compell  his  neighbors  on  each  side  of  his  lot  to  beare  y  one  halfe  of  his  fence, 
pi-vided  he  compell  them  not  to  joyne  for  above  20  rodds  in  length,  and  in  case 
his  neighbor  shall  refuse  to  doe  his  share  of  the  s'l  fence  wHn  3  months  after 


SPRINGFIELD,    16S6-ISS6.  79 


demande  :  He  sliall  be  lyable  to  pay  damages  as  two  IndifEerent  men  shall  a^vard, 
wch  shall  he  chosen  by  the  partyes  m  Controversy  :  or  m  Case  they  agree  not 
then  upon  Complainte,  y^'  magistrates  shall  appoynt  them  :  p'-vided  alsoe  yt  y^-  s<t 
fence  exceede  not  y^  charge  of  a  sufficient  five  foote  pale,  or  5  rayles. 

The  appearance  of  the  name  of  Cooley  and  a  vote  at  this  meeting 
to  force  landholders  in  the  southern  part  of  the  town  to  build  fences 
is  a  reminder  that  the  little  settlement  was  growing  to  the  south, 
which  finall}^  developed  into  the  quaint  remnant  of  the  past,  known 
in  our  day  as  the  town  of  Loiigmeadow.  Several,  having  plant- 
ing-grounds there,  complained  that  a  part  refused  to  break  up  and 
fence  these  grounds.  They  succeeded  in  getting  an  order  through 
the  town-meeting,  forcing  the  latter  to  "  beare  a  pportionable  share 
in  a  Comon  fence  gaynst  all  cattell,  accordinge  to  y  severall  quan- 
tity s  of  theyre  alottmeuts."  Each  man  was  also  required  to  ''  cutt  his 
fencinge  stuff  upon  his  owne  grounds  except  he  tirst  have  y*^  consent 
of  his  neighbor  to  fell  uppon  his  :  and  excepte  it  be  for  y*^  fencinge 
of  the  two  outsides,  then  it  shall  be  law^full  for  such  as  fence  y"  two 
outsides  to  fell  in  any  man's  lot  y'  is  next  to  hand  :  and  it  is  alsoe 
p^ided  y*  those  y*  that  let  out  every  mans  pportion  of  fence,  shall  as 
neere  as  they  can  place  every  man  to  doe  the  more  of  his  owne  lott." 

Such  legislation  l)ore  innnediate  fruits,  as  the  following  action 
shows  :  — 

Whereas  divers  neighbors  between  Ifrancis  Ball  his  lott  and  Benjamin 
Coolys  lott  have  complayned  that  some  of  y'  Neighborhood  refuse  to  Joyne  w^'i 
y">  in  makinge  a  fence  to  save  theyr  neighbors  harmeless  :  Therefore  it  is  or- 
dered that  all  the  sayd  Inhabitants  shall  Joyne  togeather  in  a  sufficient  Generall 
fence,  every  man  bearinge  a  pportionable  share,  accordinge  to  each  man's  quan- 
tity of  acres  :  and  in  case  any  Cattell  breake  through  any  part  of  s^  generall 
fence  :  Then  two  indifferent  men  shall  be  chosen  by  y^'  partys  in  Controversy, 
to  vew  y^  s'l  fence  and  trespass,  and  he  whose  fence  is  found  defective,  shall 
beare  y*^  damadge  as  two  indifferent  men  shall  award  :  And  in  case  y^  any  cattell 
breake  in  out  of  mens  particular  y cards,  They  shall  pay  such  damadges  as  y^two 
Indifferent  men  shall  award,  and  they  shall  amende  theyr  fences  as  the  s^^  indif- 
ferent men  shall  order  and  appoynt.      And   if  y  ])artys   in   controversy  do   not 


^0  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


agree  in  yedioyoe  of  ytwo  Indifferent  men,  tlien  uppon  complavnt  veMa-istrate 
shall  appovnt  them  :  And  this  generall  fence  is  to  be  finished  bv  ye  fi^st  of  Aprill 
next,  or  else  they  will  be  lyable  to  pay  damages  as  ye  s^'  two  Indifferent  men 
shall  award;  alsoe  ye  end  next  y^  River  is  to  be  rayled,  leaving  out  a  sufficient 
highway  next  ye  River. 

A  few  months  before  this  (May  U,  164.>),  the  plantations  had 
been  deep  in  another  matter  that  occasioned  much  uneasiness,  —  the 
third  apportionment  of  common  lands.  The  unanimous  action  finally 
reached  was  this  :  — 

It  is  ordered  witli  y  Joynt  Consent  of  all  ye  Plantation  at  a  publique  meetino-e 
after  sufficient  warninge  :  That  whereas  there  was  formerly  a  3d  Alotment  of 
Plantinge  grounde  granted  to  all  ye  Inhabitants  fro  Rodger  Pritchards  lott  & 
upwards.  The  s^  Inhabitants  are  now  freely  content  to  lav  downe  ye  s^'  3d 
alotments,  and  are  content  to  stand  to  ye  determination  and  alotment  of  seaven 
men  chosen  by  ,.•  .-hoU  assembly  for  ye  appoyntinge  of  3d  and  4th  alotments  to 
ye  wholl  Towne:  viz:  Henry  Smith :  Elizur  Holyoke :  Sam:  Chapen :  Tho- 
Cooper:  Tho:  Mirack :  Rich:  Sykes,  Hen:  Burt:  who  are  to  divide  ye  towne 
m  equall  parts  for  estates  and  persons  :  and  soe  halfe  ye  Towne  downward  oc- 
cordnige  to  an  equall  division  of  estates,  and  as  in  discretion  thev  shall  Judge  fit 
and  Just,  are  to  have  theyr  third  and  4th  alotments  m  ye  Longe  meddowe  and 
one  ye  other  side  of  r  River  over  agaynst  ye  Longe  nied.lowe  :  And  ye  upper 
part  of  ye  towne  are  to  have  theyr  third  and  4th  Alotments  in  ye  pkyne  above  v^ 
3  corner  Brooke  and  one  ye  other  side  ye  greate  river  at  ye  end  of  ye  five  acre 
lotts.  And  all  with  one  consent  doe  freely  p"-e  to  stand  to  r  aforesd  determi- 
nation and  alotment :  and  all  former  orders  about  the  3d  alotments  to  be  nullified. 

These  apportionments  were,  of  course,  town-meeting  affairs,  and 
so  in  form  were  the  acts  regulating  the  various  common  fields  ;  and 
in  the  latter  branch  of  legislation  it  will  be  noticed  that  in  every  town 
or.ler  it  is  expressly  stated  that  the  immediate  proprietors  of  the 
common  fields  concurred  tJierein.  The  importance  of  this  will 
appear  later.  The  following  vote,  taken  September  23,  1645,  may 
pass  as  a  good  instance  in  point : 

Whereas  the  Plantinge  of  Indian  Corne  in  ye  meddowe  Swamp  on  ye  other 
side  of  Agaam  river,  hath  occationed  a  long  stay  after  moowinge  tyme  before 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  81 


men  can  put  over  tlieyr  Cattell  thither  :  Therefore,  it  is  ordered  (with  the  con- 
sent of  all  those  that  have  plantinge  ground  there)  that  no  more  Indian  corne 
shall  be  planted,  neither  in  ye  meddowe  nor  in  y^  Swampes,  that  so  the  Cattell 
of  all  those  that  have  alotments  there  may  be  put  over  by  y^  15th  of  September  : 
provided  they  take  a  sure  course  to  keepe  theyr  Cattell  from  goinge  over  ye 
river  by  a  Keeper  in  ye  day  tyme,  &  by  keeping  y^  in  some  fenced  place  in  the 
night  tyme :  only  Calves  may  be  put  over  thither  by  the  14th  of  August. 
Complaynt  beinge  made  that  divers  that  keepe  teames  on  the  other  side  of  y^ 
River  in  ye  springe  tyme  to  plough  them,  have  formerly  much  damnifyed  other 
men  by  theyr  Cattell,  in  eating  the  greene  corne,  and  ye  first  sprout  of  mens 
meaddows  :  It  is  ordered,  therefore,  yt  ye  g.i  teames  of  Cattell  shall  be  kept 
in  some  howse  or  yeard  till  y-  first  of  May,  and  if  any  keepe  them  longer  there, 
they  are  to  pasture  them  uppon  theyr  OAvne  ground,  or  uppon  ye  Comon,  or  uppon 
ye  3^^  lotts,  not  beinge  meddow  nor  imp'ved  to  tilladge,  soe  they  bind  y™  w"^ 
a  sufficient  keeper. 

In  the  last  week  of  October  of  the  year  164o  the  Springfield 
community  was  called  upon  to  witness  two  marriages  within  three 
days  of  each  other ;  and  while  at  that  time  there  appeared  no  con- 
nection between  the  two  events,  they  stand  to  us  for  two  sharp  lines 
of  divergence  running  down  our  local  history,  and  to  group  them 
together  here  may  serve  to  retain  the  impression  of  a  social  dis- 
tinction which  not  even  a  Puritan  democracy  could  obliterate.  Caste 
is  seen  in  the  apportionments  of  land  to  the  inhabitants,  in  the  dress 
which  was  regulated  by  the  State,  and  in  the  assignment  of  seats  in 
the  meeting-house.  The  marriages  of  1645  in  question  were  upper  and 
lower  class  events.  There  had  come  to  Springfield,  some  time  before 
the  year  1645,  a  married  woman  by  the  name  of  Mary  Lewis.  Her 
husband  was  a  Roman  Catholic,  but  she  had  not  lived  with  him  for 
seven  years.  It  can  well  be  imagined  that  if  Mrs.  Lewis  had  lived 
at  Boston,  where  a  governor  had  taken  his  sword  and  cut  out  the 
cross  from  the  British  flag  because  it  was  a  hated  papal  emblem,  she 
must  have  had  a  very  dismal  career  there,  and  may  have  sought 
Springfield  as  a  place  of  refuge.  She  was  evidently  a  woman  of  a 
highly  nervous  organization.      INIrs.  Lewis   was   compelled   either  to 


82  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


work  or  marry,  and  she  chose  the  latter  lot.  There  was  in  Spring- 
field at  that  time  a  bricklayer,  of  somewhat  voluble  disposition,  by  the 
name  of  Hugh  Parsons,  —  a  "  queer  stick,"  one  would  say,  and  a  man 
quite  unworthy  to  be  matched  with  a  woman  of  Mrs.  Lewis's  tempera- 
ment. It  was  known  in  Springfield  that  ]Mr.  Lewis  was  a  Roman 
Catholic,  but  she  claimed  that  the  seven  years'  abandonment  by  her 
husband  gave  her  the  privilege  of  marrying  again  under  the  laws  of 
England.  Mr.  Pynchon  was  in  great  doubt  what  to  do,  and  he  wrote 
to  Boston  for  advice,  explaining  that  Mrs.  Lewis  had  "  f alen  into  a 
leauge  of  amity  with  a  bricke-maker."  She  was  in  great  haste  for  an 
answer,  and  Pynchon  urged  upon  John  AYinthrop  an  immediate 
decision.  A  favorable  reply  was  sent,  and  on  October  27  Hugh 
Parsons,  the  brick-maker,  and  Mary  Lewis  Avere  married.  It  was, 
however,  the  union  of  necessity  with  opportunity,  and  promised  no 
good  either  to  them  or  to  the  village. 

Three  days  later  there  was  a  wedding  in  Connecticut  which 
delighted  the  heart  of  the  founder  of  the  town.  His  son,  John 
Pynchon,  destined  to  cut  even  a  more  prominent  figure  than  he 
had  in  public  affairs,  had  sued  and  won  the  hand  of  Amy, 
daughter  of  Governor  George  Wyllys,  of  Connecticut,  the  famous 
Governor  HaA^nes  performing  the  ceremony.  John  Pynchon  was 
about  twenty-three  years  of  age,  a  quiet,  thoughtful  young  man, 
who  really  had  had  no  boyhood,  the  Puritan  convulsions  in  Europe 
and  the  migration  to  the  wilderness  having  turned  the  spirit  of  youth 
into  the  prematurely  serious  disposition  of  the  pioneer.  The  father 
did  not  attempt  to  conceal  his  delight  at  this  alliance,  and  he  even 
wrote  to  the  governor  of  the  colony  expressing  his  satisfaction  that 
the  young  man  had  concluded  to  live  at  "  my  house  where  he  may 
continue  as  long  as  he  finds  it  for  his  comfort  &  beuefitt." 

John  Pynchon  was  weU  educated,  and  seems  to  have  been  under  the 
influence  of  a  lawyer.  Possibly  he  formed  his  legal  habits  from  his 
father,  who  was  trained  in  the  ways  of  the  law  ;  but  John  Pynchon 
was  an  entirely  different  kind  of  man  from  the  founder  of  Springfield. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

1645-1600. 

Counecticut  imposes  a  River  Tariff.  —  Purchase  of  Saybrook  Fort.  —  William  Pyuclioii 
refuses  to  pay  the  Duty.  -  The  Commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies  sustain  Con- 
necticut.—Spriuofiekl's  Case  in  Detail.— Massachusetts  imposes  Retaliatory  Duties. 

-  Connecticut  removes  the  River  Duties  on   Springfield  Goods.  -  Floods  and  Local 
Incidents.  —  Taxes.  —  Miles  Morgan.  -  The  Freeman's  Oath.  -  Trouble  as  to  Swine. 

—  Town  Orders.  —  Pynchoii's  Court. 

Outside  affairs  again  demanded  tlie  attention  of  the  frontier  plan- 
tation ;  and  he  who  had  antagonized  the  colony  down  the  river  was 
again  placed  wliere  he  must  renew  the  battle  or  retire  from  the  valley. 
During  the  five  years  beginning  with  1645  Springfield  and  Hartford 
kept  up  a  running  sword-play  over  the  custom  duties  on  the  Connect- 
icut river.  It  was  the  first  tariff  war  in  New  England,  and  finally 
involved  all  of  the  colonies.  It  would  not  be  candid  to  charge  that 
Connecticut  was  urged  into  this  contest  by  a  special  hostility  to 
Springfield  ;  because  the  colony  was  nursing  a  commercial  ambition, 
and  was  bound  to  further  her  material  interests  by  all  legitimate 
means.  However,  it  will  be  seen  by  the  temper  of  some  of  the 
charges  formulated  at  Hartford  that  the  bitterness  was  not  lessened 
by  a  neighborly  feeling  towards  Springfield. 

Near  the  close  of  the  year  1644  Connecticut  had  bargained  for 
the  fort  at  Saybrook,  Mr.  Fenwick,  the  owner,  agreeing  to  accept 
certain  duties,  including  '2d.  per  bushel  upon  exported  grain  passing 
the  fort,  and  6d.  per  hundred  upon  biscuit.  There  was  also  an  annual 
tax  put  upon  hogs  and  cattle,  to  be  paid  to  Fenwick  ;  all  of  these 
tributes  to  continue  ten  years,  when  the  fort  was  to  become  the  abso- 
lute property  of  Connecticut.      Officers   were   stationed  at  Windsor, 


84  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-2886. 


Hartford,  and  Wethersfield,  to  give  clearance  papers  to  masters  of 
out-going  vessels,  and  these  papers  were  presented  to  Fenwick's  agent 
at  SaA^^rook.  Connecticut  at  once  concluded  to  bring  Springfield, 
which  was  doing  a  good  business  with  Boston,  under  the  tariff.  But 
the  Hartford  government  had  not  secured  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
mouth  of  the  river  with  the  prospective  ownership  of  the  fort.  The 
dut}^  upon  exports  was  the  purchase-money  for  the  fort.  Springfield 
was  thus  being  asked  to  aid  in  this  payment ;  if  she  had  yielded,  and 
paid  the  duty,  she  would  have  had  no  proprietary  interest  in  the  fort 
itself.  In  fact,  Springfield  was  being  forced  to  help  secure  for  Con- 
necticut a  title  to  the  very  fort  that  might  prove  a  menace  to  its  own 
commerce. 

The  Massachusetts  General  Court,  when  informed  of  the  Connecti- 
cut tariff,  voted  that  ''none  of  ours"  shall  pay  the  tribute.  Mr. 
Pynchon  was  threatened  with  utter  ruin  in  a  business  way,  and  he  at 
once  gave  direction  to  his  sailors  to  pay  no  attention  to  the  order,  and 
to  refuse  to  file  invoices,  or  to  ask  for  clearance  papers.  His  order 
was  disobeyed  for  some  unknown  reason,  and  one  cargo  of  corn  was 
entered  under  the  tariff  provision.  ^Ir.  Pynchon  appears  to  have 
been  very  nmch  annoyed  at  this,  and  he  said  at  once  :  "  If  they  would 
arest  our  goods,  I  had  rather  they  should  doe  it  now  than  another 
tyme."  His  next  ship  passed  the  Saybrook  fort  in  defiance  of  the 
Connecticut  officer ;  but  the  little  cannon  which  constructively  swept 
the  river  did  not  o[)en  fire.  Pynchon  wrote  to  Governor  Winthrop  at 
Boston  in  July,  1040  :  "  But  if  we  should  be  forced  to  such  a  thinge 
[payment  of  duty]  this  plantation  will  be  deserted.  I  think  no  man 
will  dwell  here  to  be  brought  under  such  payments.  I  desyre  your 
advise,  whether  we  were  best  to  enter  our  goods  or  no.  My  owne 
apprehensions  are  that  we  ought  not  to  doe  it,  &  so  Jehovah  cause 
His  face  to  shine  uppon  you  ever." 

The  commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies,  which  had  now  been  in 
existence  for  three  years  as  a  sort  of  itinerary  Congress,  met  at 
Hartford  two  months  later  to  adjust  this  matter.     They  heard  many 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  85 


arguments,  the  most  important  one  being  that  the  maintenance  of  a 
fort  at  Saybrook  was  as  important  to  Springfield  as  to  Hartford  ;  but 
Mr.  Pynchon  was  not  present.  No  definite  action  was  taken  by  the 
commissioners  at  the  Hartford  meeting,  possibly  on  account  of  the  in- 
tense feeling ;  but  the   Massachusetts  General  Court,   in  November, 

1646,  made  a  full  declaration  of  its  position  ;  and,  it  may  be  here 
added,  carried  out  its  programme  to  the  end.  The  court  held  that  Hart- 
ford had  no  legal  right  to  force  an  outsider  to  buy  a  fort  for  the  Con- 
necticut colony,  that  the  Saybrook  fort  was  no  protection  to  Spring- 
field, and  that  a  tariff  dispute  hindered  the  confederation  several 
years  before,  and  that  now  to.  resort  to  it  would  "put  us  to  new 
thoughts."  "  If  Hartford  jurisdiction,"  continues  the  General  Court, 
"  shall  make  use  of  their  power  over  any  of  o'"s,  we  conceave  we  have 
y*^  same  pow^"  to  imitate  y""  in  y^  like  kind,  av'^^  we  deesier  may  be  for- 
borne on  both  sides."  This  strong  language  brought  the  commis- 
sioners of  the  United  Colonies  to  Boston   in  special  session,  in  July, 

1647.  Deputy-Governor  Hopkins  and  Captain  Mason  were  the  com- 
missioners from  Connecticut.  Mason  was  thus  confronted  by  his  old 
antagonist  of  Springfield,  and  the  struggle  that  followed  turned  very 
much  upon  the  old  lines.  Captain  Mason  had  a  short  time  before  been 
given  the  military  conunand  at  Saybrook,  —  an  act  of  discretion  only, 
as  the  fort,  OAving  to  a  recent  fire,  was  little  short  of  a  military 
expression. 

The  Massachusetts  commissioners  were  Thomas  Dudley  and  John 
Endicott.  The  resolutions  of  Massachusetts  passed  in  November 
were  read.  Mr.  Hopkins  was  given  time  to  reply  in  detail,  which  he 
did,  with  much  vigor,  on  the  27th  of  July.  He  argued  in  the  first 
place  that,  provided  the  tax  were  just,  '-it  concernes  not  the  party 
that  payes  "  what  is  done  with  the  money,  his  point  being  that  the 
tax  was  justifiable  because  a  fort  at  Saybrook  had  been,  was  and 
would  be  useful  to  Springfield.  He  claimed  that  it  was  five  rather 
than  teu  years  that  any  delay  in  forming  a  confederation  was  caused 
by  the  discussion  of  a  river  tariff.     The  Massachusetts  General  Court 


i^Q  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

had  said  it  was  very  hard  for  those  in  the  Massachusetts  jurisdiction 
to  weaken  their  estates  by  being  '^  forced  to  such  a  bondage,"  and 
Hopkins  replied  that  "if  weakeninge  of  estates  be  a  sufficient  plea 
to  free  men  from  payinge  of  taxes,  we  know  not  who  will  pay,  for  all 
such  payments  doe  weaken  men's  estates."     Mr.  Hopkins  continues: 

Nor  can  we  yeild  a  ready  beleefe  to  what  is  affirmed,  that  if  they  (Springfield 
planters)  had  foreseen  the  present  imposition  Avonld  have  been  required,  they 
Avould  not  then  have  planted,  for  the  thing  carryeth  that  evidence  of  equity  with 
it  that  M'".  Pinchon,  while  he  looked  upon  himself  as  a  member  of  that  jurisdic- 
tion, aeknoAvledged  the  same  &  yielded  upon  a  motion  made  by  himself  to  M''. 
Fenwicke  (as  we  have  it  from  this  testimony  deserving  credit)  that  the  trade  of 
beaver  upon  the  Eiver,  Avhich  is  the  greatest  tiling  now  stuck  at,  ought  in  reason 
to  contribute  to  the  chardg  of  the  forte ;  besides  the  incouragement  given  by 
]VI^  Pinchon  under  his  owne  hand  to  others  to  the  gentlemen  interested  in  8ea- 
brooke  forte,  which  might  well  draw  out  from  them  an  addition  to  the  former 
expense,  there  seems  to  deserve  some  weight  of  consideration  in  the  present  case. 

Mr.  Pynchon  had  said  in  his  written  protest  that  he  did  not  propose 
to  be  taxed  by  two  governments,  even  if  he  had  said  that  a  Saybrook 
fort  was  a  good  thing  for  the  colonies.  There  was  a  principle  of 
government  involved  in  this  unfortunate  affair  which  did  not  appear 
in  its  true  light  to  the  disputants.  A  fort  was  useful  to  all  the  col- 
onies, and  its  maintenance,  like  the  war  charges,  should  have  been  a 
burden  on  all.  The  commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies  were  not 
able  to  grasp  the  full  notion  of  federated  unity.  They  chose  rather 
to  stand  by  Connecticut.  The  debate  was  at  first  carried  on  by  the 
Connecticut  and  Massachusetts  members  of  the  commission,  and  it 
was  some  time  before  Mr.  Pynchon  himself  was  called  in ;  but  he 
simply  referred  to  the  action  of  the  Massachusetts  General  Court  as 
reflecting  fully  his  views.  The  commissioners,  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  no  duties  were  imposed  upon  the  Dutch  trading  vessels,  passed 
a  vote  in  which  it  was  said  that  "  it  is  no  hnpeachment  of  any  liberty 
granted  by  patent  to  the  Massachusetts  that  Springfeild,  seated  upon 
the  River  of  Connecticut,  doe  be  are  a  moderate   &  equall  parte  of 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  87 


charges,  whether  of  scouring  any  parte  of  that  River,  or  River's  mouth 
(if  there  shouhi  be  occasion)  or  in  making  or  mainetayning  such  a 
fort  as  is  in  question  to  secure  the  passage  to  and  fro."  The  river 
tariff  was  therefore  approved.  The  report  was  signed  by  the  Ply- 
mouth and  Xew  Haven  commissioners  only. 

This  decision,  failing  as  it  did  to  receive  the  signatures  of  all  the 
eonnnissioners,  only  added  to  the  difficulties  of  the  situation.  Mr. 
Pynchon  bluntly  refused  to  pay  Id.  per  bushel  on  grain.  There  has 
been  recently  discovered  a  copy  of  an  undated  letter  of  Mr.  Pynchon 
upon  this  subject,  which  was  evidently  written  shortly  after  the  action 
of  the  commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies.  It  is  here  tran- 
scribed, except  certain  incomplete  sentences :  — 

Goodman  Johnson  my  ancient  &  much  esteemed  friend  as  you  hav  bin  my 
faithf ull  Agent  in  all  Inisinesess  of  importance  so  it  is  not  y*^  least  y*  I  have  com- 
mitted unto  your  care  y^  movinge  y  (xenerall  Court  to  take  into  serious  consid- 
iration  \^  jurisdiction  of  y^  Ri^-ers  mouth,  for  if  Ave  should  be  brought  ur.der 
such  a  jurisdiction  not  only  our  comfortable  sittuation  will  be  spoyled  but  also 
y^'  liberties  &  privileges  of  y*^  pattent  in  all  their  Western  pte  —  for  what  is 
all  y**  you  have  in  yo'""  ptes  good  for,  if  you  cann  have  ffree  passage  of  Con- 
notticutt  River. 

The  Generall  Court  of  y*^  Bay  hav  declared  their  Reasons  both  against  y« 
purchase.  &  also  against  y^  custome  of  y*'  Rivers  mouth  for  they  plead  both 
these  tlunges,  to  bring  us  under  imposition  — 

1.  Mr.  Hopkins  letter  to  me  (w^'i  I  sent  you  by  my  sson)  doth  hould  forth 
that  we  must  pay  2^^  y«^  bushell  &  20  y^'  ...  of  corne  as  our  due  share  towards 
ye  purchase  of  y«^  said  fort  — 

2.  I  gather  from  Mr.  Dudlies  speech  to  me.  that  M'.  Hopkms  doth  expect  y^ 
said  rates  as  a  custome,  for  M'".  Dudly  tould  me  y-'^  he  demanded  of  M'".  Hopkins 
whether  they  would  expect  y^  like  rates  of  any  other  plantations  that  might  be 
planted  above  us  y^"  said  forte  to  y*"  head  of  y^  River. 

3.  Heere  it  is  evident  that  they  expect  y^  said  rates  of  us  as  an  imposition  of 
custome,  for  if  it  had  bin  intended  for  purchase  only  then  when  a  certain  sume 
had  bin  paid,  they  could  expect  no  more  —  but  it  seemes  they  expect  y^  like  rates 
of  all  other  plantations  that  may,  in  few  yeeres,  be  planted  above  us.  Is  not 
this  unlimited,  sence  titter  to  be  called  custome  y-'"  purchase  — 


88  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


4.  In  this  confused,  mixed  case,  y*"  Commissioners  of  y^'  United  Colonies  hav 
interposed  their  power,  &  have  ordered  that  y^  subjects  of  y^'  Bay  Jurisdiction, 
that  live  uppon  y^  River,  shall  pay  y*^  said  rates  to  y'^  Rivers  mouth :  but  Avhether 
we  must  pay  it  in  y^"  name  of  purchase,  or  in  y*^  name  of  custome.  I  know  not  as 
yet  — 

If  they  have  ordered  our  payment  in  respect  of  y  purchase,  then  ye  con- 
troversy must  lie  betweene  y*^  Generall  Court  (who  have  declared  against  it) ,  and 
M"".  ffennick,  for  he  is  the  only  Block,  —  but  if  y^"  Commissioners  hav  ordered 
us  to  pay  it  as  a  custome  to  y''  River,  then  y''  controversy  Avill  lie  betweene  y" 
two  jurisdictions.  Let  y'"  justice  of  both  these  suits  be  examined.  .  .  . 
Then  what  have  y^  Commissioners  to  doe  in  y*^  case,  for  their  commission  runs 
thus  —  If  any  controversy  doe  arise  betweene  any  of  y*^  two  United  Colonies, 
then  ye  other  Commissioners  have  poAver  to  determine  y^'  matter  —  but  M>".  ffenick 
AN'tii  whom  ye  controversy  is  (about  our  payment  to  y^  purchase)  is  not  a  Colonist, 
is  but  a  private  man,  therefore  ye  Commissioners  in  that  case  have  no  power  ex- 
offlcio  to  determine.  Therefore,  ye  late  order  is  of  no  power  to  bynd  us  to  obey 
it.  But,  2dly.  If  they  have  ordered  us  to  i)ay  ye  said  rates  as  custome  to  ye 
River,  then  I  tliink  ye  Generall  Court  knows  how  to  deal  w^'i  them  in  ye  same 
kind.  The  Rivers  are  buyers  and  no  sellers,  therefore,  they  cannot  attach  our 
goods  in  ye  name  of  purchase,  except  they  do  it  in  M'.  ffenick's  name,  to  bring 
us  to  a  dew  tryall  in  law  — l)ut  I  think  no  justice  can  make  us  pay  to  any  pur- 
chase unlesse  we  have  l)iu  first  made  acquainted  w"'  it,  &  so  consenting  to  ye 
bargain  we'^  we  disclaim.  In  l)riefe,  ye  wliole  l)iisines8e  doth  seem  to  me  to  be 
such  an  odd  kind  of  jumbled  businesse  y'  I  cannot  tell  how  to  distinguish  their 
meaning.  M'.  ffenicke  sees  ye  laAves  and  ye  power  of  government,  and  yet 
he  doeth  condition  y'  ye  Generall  Court  must  put  out  their  power  to  take  such  an 
imposition  of  ye  subjects  of  ye  Bay  jurisdiction  for  y^'  use  of  his  private  purse 
only  —  for  ye  inhabitants  of  ye  River  prof  esse  that  they  shall  have  no  benefit  by 
it.  I  Avonder  by  Avhat  justice  ye  Bay  can  lose  their  right  of  their  passage  in  ye 
River,  for  ye  Bay  can  hav  a  right  to  export  and  import  goods  up  and  downe, 
yet  never  to  any  pt  of  their  pattent  there  situated.  Before  even  ye  River  or  M''. 
ffenicke  had  any  pattent  thereof ;  and  how  then  can  they  lose  the  free  use  of 
that  river  except  by  their  owne  consent :  they  had  consented  to  ye  said  rates  for 
ye  said  purchase.  Can  ye  late  sale  of  their  pattent  justly  deprive  us  of  our  an- 
cient rights  and  privilege  — 

If  ye  Dutch   hav    bought   ye  said  pattent    of  jNI'.    ffenick  they   could  not  de 
Jure  have  made  us  pay  anything  to  their  purchase.   If  they  had  done  it     . 
then  they  must  have  been  dealt  Avith  all  in  ye  said  line.     M^  Hopkins  doth  plead 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  89 


y'  we  ought,  in  justice,  to  pay  our  share  to  y""  purchase  of  y^'  said  fort,  because 
Ave  snare  in  y^  benefit.  I  answer,  no ;  except  we  had  his  consenting  as  pur- 
chasers, never  like  to  be  of  any  benefit,  namely  to  keep  open  y^  Eiver  against 
malignant  shipps  or  pinaces  for  1.  How  can  we  have  y^  said  benefit  by  a  fort 
Av^!'  is  but  a  fort  in  name  only,  being  no  fort  indeed — 2.  If  ye  State  Avere  able  to 
make  and  maintain  them,  avCi  ^^ey  ^^.^  j^^^  ^y^^^  ^^  ^^^  Av^^out  their  utter  undoinge, 
yet  there  is  no  necessar}^  use  of  a  fort  there  to  keepe  out  malignant  shipps  .  .  . 
M'".  Winthrop  Avrites  me  Avord  y*  you  have  not  as  yet  Aveighed  w*  I  wrote  you 
about  this  businesse.  I  entreat  you  make  haste  to  doe  before  he  state  y^  case  & 
send  it  for  England  —  for  if  God  be  pleased  to  assist,  he  is  resolved  to  state  y^ 
case  &  send  it  for  England.  Remember  my  best  respects  to  M'\  Dudly  &  his 
wife,  to  M'.  Eliot  &  his  Avife,  to  Elinor  Heath,  to  Deacon  PoAvers,  &c.,  ct 
pray  God  yt  all  peace  ])e  with  you  —  ever. 

Your  affectionate  lovinge  friend  and  brother,  ever, 

AV.   Pynchon. 

In  the  uote-book  contaiuiiig  this  interesting  letter  of  William 
Pynehou,  is  a  more  elaborate  argument  of  the  case,  which  may  be 
the  draft  of  the  document  that  subsequently  formed  the  basis  of  the 
action  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  General  Court.  "  Saleant  "  or 
"  salient  "  was  a  legal  term,  and  stood  for  "  assailant  "  or  plaintiff. 
The  argument  is  as  follows  :  — 

Obj.  1.  — The  Saleant  by  his  Agent  does  object  to  y^  said  River  plantation  — 
y'  although  he  did  not  desire  their  concurrence  w^'i  y^'  said  combined  jurisdiction, 
before  yf  said  purchase  Avas  fully  ended  &  concluded,  yet  he  thinks  y^^  in  com- 
mon equity,  they  ought  to  pay  an  equall  share  av^'i  y^'  said  combined  Jurisdiction, 
towards  y^  said  purchase,  liy  paying  such  rates  as  they  pay  uppon  ail  such  goods, 
as  you  do,  that  shall  passe  out  at  y'  Rivers  mouth,  for  y^'  said  upper  plantation 
have  as  much  benefitt  by  y«  said  fort  as  they,  for  y^"  said  fort  Avas  at  y"  first,  built 
for  ye  securinge  of  y^  River  against  malignant  shijjps  &  pinaces,  and,  therefore, 
as  you  knoAv,  in  y^  benefit,  y^  in  equity  they  ought  to  share  in  y^  charge  of  y^ 
said  purchase. 

Ans.  1.  If  Ave  of  tlie  upper  plantation  should  grant  y'  y*^  said  fort  Avas  as 
great  a  benefit  to  us  as  can  be  spoken,  yet  Ave  see  not  by  Avhat  justice  y^  Saleant 
can  receive  any  thing  uppon  our  goods  on  the  name  &  notion  of  joynt  pur- 
chasers Avth  ye  combined  jurisdiction,  except  he  can  prove,  yf  lie  liad  our  consent 


9  0  SFR IXG  FIEL  D ,     1 63  6-1 88  6. 

to  y^  said  purchase.  For  y*^  Saleant  did  not  compell  y*^  said  combined  jurisdic- 
tion to  pay  such  &  such  rates  to  hnu  for  y*"  said  purchase,  untill  every  inhabitant 
in  y^'  said  combined  jurisdiction,  had  fully  agreed  uppon  ye  summ  &  manner  of 
payment.  They  all  gave  consent,  for  they  all  had  liberty  to  choose  their  depu- 
tyes,  to  transact  tlieir  bargains  wf'  y«"  Saleant  in  their  Generall  Court;  but  y<^ 
Saleant  cannot  challenge  y^'  like  consent  of  us.  he  cannot,  therefore,  in  justice 
challenge  us  to  be  joynt  purchasers  av"i  them,  &  therefore  he  cannot  compell 
them  to  pay  an  equall  share  av"^'^  them  of  all  such  goods  as  passe  out  of  }'*"  Elvers 
mouth. 

2.  We  answer,  y'  thi-re  is  not  any  one  inhabitant  in  y'  combined  juris- 
diction, but  by  their  deputyes,  y^  have  a  contimied  right  to  advise  &  vote  in  their 
Generall  Court  touching  y  well  ordering  of  y*^^  said  pattent  &  fort  —  namely,  how 
all  things  shall  be  governed,  maintained,  repayred.  or  demolished,  as  y^'  major 
part  of  y*^'"  shall  thinke  best.  This  benefit  y-'  Saleant  cannot  give  to  us,  for  we 
being  freemen  of  another  jurisdiction,  can  have  no  right  in  their  courts  to  give 
any  advise  &  vote — therefore,  in  equity  he  cannot  compell  ns  to  i)ay  as  joynt 
purchasers  av"^  y''  combined  Jurisdiction. 

3.  We  answer  y'  if  any  of  y*"  subjects  of  y  com1)ined  Jurisdiction  shall  find 
themselves  over  rated  to  y^'  said  purchase,  or  other  wise  shall  find  themselves 
aggreived  about  y  government  or  maintenance  of  y''  said  patent  or  fort,  they 
have  by  their  deputyes  a  continual  right  to  transact  such  greivances.  by  avC^ 
meanes  their  greivances  ma}'  easily  &  speedily  be  amended  in  a  familiar  orderly 
way,  but  y''  Saleant  cannot  give  us  y^  like  riglit  full  l>enefit  in  your  courts  to 
transact  our  greivances;  therefore,  if  we  shall  joyne  w''  them  in  y^  said  pur- 
chase, they  being  a  jurisdiction,  &  we  but  a  little  plantation  nothing  comparable 
to  them,  they  may  impose  a  charge  uppon  us,  ad  infinitum  for  we  have  no  right 
in  their  Courts,  &  therefore  we  have  no  orderly  meanes  to  help  ourselves,  but 
as  they  please,  uppon  our  petitions,  hi  an  arbitrary  way  —  &  therefore  except  y<^ 
Saleant  can  put  us  into  an  equall  right  of  vote  w*'*  them,  in  y*^  ordering  of  y^'  said 
pattent  &  fort,  we  cannot  see  by  Avhat  justice  he  can  possesse  himself  of  any  of 
our  goods  against  our  consente  — 

Obj.  2.  ¥«=  Commissioners  of  y"  United  Colonies  doe  think  it  good  justice 
to  order  y*^"  said  upper  plantation  to  pay  unto  y'  Saleant  such  &  such  rates  as  y*^ 
combined  Jurisdiction  have  agreed  to  pay;  for  they  judg  y  said  upper  planta- 
tion to  have  equall  benefit  av^'i  them,  by  y^  said  fort.  &  yet,  av''^  all,  y*^  said  Com- 
missioners have  ordered  by  Avay  of  moderation  &  restaint,  y^  y"  purchasers  of 
y'^'  combined  jurisdiction  shall  not  overtopp  y*^  said  upper  plantation,  by  impos- 
ing any  other  charge  uppon  y*^  said  upper  plantation,  for  &  toAvards  y*=  said  fort; 


SFRIXGFIELD.    26S6-18S6. 


and  therefore,  y"-'  said  upper  plantation  being  thus  secured  by  y^  Commissioners 
order  need  not  to  flore  their  charges  uppon  y''"  ad  infinitum  — 

Ans.  1.  — We  answer  y^  this  clause  of  moderation  in  y'^  Commissioners  order, 
iloth  not  satisfie  us  —  We  hould  it  no  better  y"  a  sturdy  shohonne  in  w^^'i  y^  forte 
is  draAven  y^'  more  easily  into  a  pinching  shoe,  if  once  we  doe  but  yield  ourseh'es 
to  be  joynt  purchasers  w"^  y"^  combined  jurisdiction —  We  can  hardly  expect  y' 
they  will  free  us  from  other  charges  —  It  may  be  y*^  Commission  Avill  cease  in 
tyme,  &  then  they  may  rule  us  in  as  joynt  jjurchasers  to  other  charges,  or  it 
may  be  they  may  find  out  some  flaw  in  y"^  Commissions  order  in  y*^  point  of 
legality — they  may  say  they  had  no  power,  by  virtue  of  their  Commission,  to 
order  us  to  pay  only  our  share  of  y^'  purchase  to  y^  Saliant.  They  may  think 
that  by  as  good  right  we  ought  to  pay  our  share  of  all  other  charges.  We  cannot 
tell  what  they,  being  a  great  body,  may  easily  overtopp  us,  &  force  us  to  pay 
what  they  please  towards  y^'  continuall  Government  maintenance,  and  Repara- 
tions;  &  yet  we  have  no  other  means  to  help  ourselves,  but  by  way  of  petition 
in  an  arbitrary  Avay. 

2.  We  ansAver  y*  in  case  we  should  be  p^suaded  to  joyne  w^'^  them  in  y^  said 
purchase,  according  to  y''  Commissioners  order,  yet  then  we  shall  be  at  a  losse 
how  to  find  out  y^'  Reason,  Avhy  they  do  order  us  to  pay  an  equall  share  w^'^  them 
of  all  such  goode  as  passeth  out  at  y*^  Rivers  mouth.  Seeing  they  have  not  only 
yc  said  fort  &  appurtenances,  but  y^  pattent  also,  Avith  y*'  said  purchase  —  by 
w^h  pattent  they  have  a  legale  right  to  govern  &  order  all  y^  King's  Subjects 
that  shall  inhabit  Avt'nn  that  large  tract  of  land, — as  it  is  specified  in  y^'  said 
pattent. 

Is  not  this  power  of  government  to  be  esteemed  as  a  chiefe  p'  of  y^  said  pur- 
chase, —  seeing  y'  power  of  government  av^'i  they  had  before,  stored  but 
uppon  their  OAvn  combination.  Therefore,  hoAv  can  y^  Commission,  by  y*'  rule  of 
equity,  force  us  to  pay  equal  rates  av"^  them;  y«"  said  pattent  &  fort,  &  yet 
never  give  us  any  legall  right  in  y^  ordering  either  of  y*'  said  pattent  or  fort. 

Obj.  3.  It  may  be  it  Avill  be  objected  y*  they  doe  not  esteem  y^  pattent  at  any 
value  at  all,  and  therefore  hould  it  good  justice  to  make  us  pay  equall  rates  w''^ 
them  of  all  y"^  passeth  out  at  y"^  River's  mouth. 

Ans.  1.  We  can  hardly  think  y'  either  y"  Commissioners  or  purchasers  do  so 
much  undervalue  y^  said  pattent  as  to  esteem  it  as  nothing ;  but  in  case  they  do 
esteem  it  as  nothing,  yet  seeing  Ave  do  judg  it  to  be  of  some  value,  Avhy  shall 
not  Ave,  if  Ave  be  joynt  purchasers  w''^  them,  make  what  benefit  Ave  can  on  it;  for 
we  regard  not  ye  purchase  of  ye  rotten  palisade,  so  much  as  y*'  pattent.  If  y*^ 
Saliant  had  had  no  pattent,  could  he   ever  have  given  such  a   rate  for  a  rotten 


SPRINGFIELD,    2636-1886. 


palisade,  w^h  at  y^  most,  w^h  all  y^  appurtenances,  was  not,  in  our  estimation, 
worth  a  quarter  part  of  those  rates  yt  y^  Saliant  doeth  expect  to  give  with  his 
purser.  If  so,  what  justice  is  it  to  make  us  pay  so  greate  a  share  for  so  like  a 
comedy,  especially  if  we  be  deprived  of  our  right  (if  ever  we  be  purchasers)  in 
y*'  ordering  of  y^  said  pattent? 

Obj.  \.  We  judg  yt  yc  upper  plantation  hath  a  common  benefit  by  ye  fort,  for 
it  was  built  for  y^  securing  of  all  y^^  River  against  an  enemy. 

Ans.  1.  We  denie  not  but  yt  y^  first  intent  of  building  y^  said  fort,  might  be, 
to  secure  y^  Ri^^er  against  malignant  shipps  &  pinaces,  but  this  must  be  re- 
membered, yt  it  Avas  made  in  haste,  &  therefore,  it  was  but  a  pahsade,  &  but 
y  like  forme  at  first ;  but  when  it  was  purchased,  it  was  utterly  ruined ;  neither 
is  there  like  to  be  any  fort  there  of  sufficient  strength  in  haste  —  therefore,  we 
judge  yt  such  kind  of  fortification  will  rather  be  a  dangerous  snare  to  y^  River 
than  a  benefit.  We  judge  such  kindes  of  fortes  to  be  rather  an  advantage  y"  a 
disadvantage  to  an  enemy.  Tlierefore,  if  ever  we  be  forced  to  have  any  right  or 
interest  in  y^  purchase  of  y^  said  pattent  &  forte,  we  shall,  in  likelyhood,  give 
our  votes  to  have  it  demolished,  with  all  speed  that  may  be  — 

2.  We  answer  y'  there  is  no  need  of  any  fort  here  to  secure  y^  River  against 
malignant  shipps  or  pinaces. 

1.  For  ye  Rivers"  mouth  is  naturally  barred  wt'>  a  sand  bank  all  over,  w^h  is 
sufficient  to  terrific  all  malignant  shipps  from  coming  into  y^  River,  more  than  any 
fort  there  can  doe.  2dly.  A  fort  there  is  needlesse  against  maUgnant  pinaces,  for 
such  as  are  of  small  burden  may  easily  passe  in  and  out,  eyther  by  day  or  night, 
without  any  great  damage  of  a  fort,  y^  passage  there  is  so  broad. 

3.  If  malignant  pinaces  shall  at  any  tyme  attempt  any  mischief  against  y^ 
River,  yet  we  are  fearlesse  of  danger,  for  no  pinace  can  come  nigh  us  by  15  or 
16  miles.  Therefore  y^  said  forte  is  not  of  y^  like  use  to  secure  us,  as  it  is  to 
secure  you.  Therefore,  in  equity,  y^  combined  jurisdiction  should  not  expect  us 
to  pay  an  equall  share  wf'>  them  of  all  that  passeth  out  at  y^  Rivers'  mouth. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  United  Colony  Commissioners  at  Plymouth  in 
1648,  Massachusetts  made  another  attempt  to  win  the  commissioners 
over,  but  without  avail,  and  consequentl}^  when  the  General  Court 
met  at  Boston  in  May,  1649,  it  was  in  no  temper  to  rely  longer  upon 
the  moral  force  alone.  Solemn  indignation  characterized  the  speeches 
of  the  members,  and  a  vote  was  passed  rehearsing  the  facts  of 
the  situation,    how   Springfield   was    taxed  to   maintain  a  Connect!- 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1S86.  93 


cut  fort,  aud  how  the  Boston  fortifications  had  never  been  made 
a  charge  upon  the  other  colonies.  Then,  witli  equally  solemn  indig- 
nation they  imposed  tariff  duties,  both  import  and  export,  upon  all 
goods  carried  past  "  the  castle  "  in  Boston  Bay  by  any  inhabitant  of 
Plymouth,  Connecticut,  or  Xew  Haven.  A  turbulent  meeting  of  the 
commissioners  at  Boston  two  months  later,  and  formal  remonstrance 
against  retaliatory  duties  on  all  the  New  England  colony  goods,  had 
not  the  slightest  effect  upon  the  Bay  people. 

The  tariff"  war,  thus  begun,  threatened  to  ruin  Connecticut,  and  of 
course  would  have  set  all  New  England  back  in  its  struggle 
for  existence.  The  response  to  the  retaliatory  duties  was  quick. 
Pl3nnouth  and  New  Haven  were  grieved  and  Hartford  irritated  ;  but 
they  all  gave  way,  nevertheless,  and  Mr.  Pynchon's  goods  passed 
down  the  river  unchallenged-.  Massachusetts,  with  equal  promptness, 
in  May,  IG.K),  suspended  the  customs  duties  onl}''  too  gladly  ''upon 
the  petition  of  the  inhabitants  of  Boston,"  after  being  ''  credibly  in- 
formed "  that  Connecticut  had  done  likewise. 

In  spite  of  local  excitements,  the  minds  of  these  remote  pio- 
neers continually  turned  to  P^ngland,  and  even  in  the  wilderness 
they  felt  a  kind  of  security  that  England  was  a  stranger  to  at  this 
time.  Mr.  P^^nchon  wrote,  in  164(5,  after  hearing  of  the  struggle 
in  the  British  Parliament  over  religion  and  the  form  of  disci- 
pline to  be  adopted  :  "•  The  Scotts  say  that  their  fourme  of  presbu- 
terian  government  is  the  only  way  of  Christ  and  the  Independents  say 
that  their  fourme  of  discipline  is  the  only  way  of  Christ.  But  the  Par- 
liament say  that  neather  of  them  is  the  onh^  way  of  Christ,  &  there- 
fore they  have  ordained  Commissioners  to  supervise  the  conclusions 
of  the  presbuterian  Courtes.  But  truly  where  zeal  of  God's  glory 
&  godly  wisdome  are  joyned  together ;  a  world  of  good  hath  bin 
done  by  godly  ministers,  even  in  England,  that  have  held  no  certaine 
fourme  of  discipline  :  on  the  contrary,  w^here  a  could  spirit  doth  rule 
in  ministers,  though  they  may  have  a  good  fourme  of  government, 
there    people   may  be  said  to  have    a  name   to  liA'e,   &  yet    be    dead 


94  SPRINGFIELD,    J636-18S6. 


Christians.  "  This  is  a  fair  expose  of  the  spirit  at  the  bottom  of  Mr. 
Pynchon's  warm  polemics.  The  attempts  both  in  England  and  this 
country  to  secure  an  iron-bound  form  of  religion  as  handmaid  to  the 
State  had  set  him  to  philosophizing.  The  attempt  to  secure  liberty  of 
conscience  had  the  effect  to  drive  him  into  more  conservative  lines  of 
thought,  and  even  led  him  to  sa}' :  '•  I  perceive  by  some  godly  min- 
isters that  have  wrote  into  this  country,  that  this  is  not  a  tyme  of 
reformation,  but  of  liberty  of  conscience.  I  beleeve  by  the  tj^me  the}' 
see  a  little  more  of  the  lawlessnesse  of  liberty  of  conscience,  they 
will  change  their  judgmentt,  &  say  that  liberty  of  conscience  will 
give  liberty  to  Sathan  to  broch  such  horrid  blasphemous  opj)iuions  as 
were  not  the  like  in  an^'^  age." 

The  open  winter  of  1640-47  was  followed  by  terrible  floods  and  in 
the  following  autumn  an  epidemic  of  sickness.  During  the  previous 
summer  also  caterpillars  had  appeared  in  such  numbers,  to  the  great 
damage  of  the  wheat,  that  it  may  be  called  a  plague.  The  settlers 
had  many  natural  enemies.  The  pigeons  in  overwhelming  flocks 
assaulted  the  crops  and  the  wolves  made  free  with  sheep.  A  bounty 
of  lOd.  was  paid  for  every  wolf  killed  within  five  miles  of  the 
town. 

The  building  of  the  meeting-house  added  to  the  solenmit}'  of  the 
Lord's-da}'  observances.  John  Matthews,  as  we  have  intimated,  was 
ordered  to  "  beate  the  drum  for  the  meetings  for  a  yeares  space  at  10 
of  ye  clock  on  the  Lectures  days  and  at  9  o  clock  on  the  Lord's  days 
in  the  forenoon  onl}',  and  he  is  to  beate  it  fro  M'.  Moxon  to  M':  Steb- 
bins  house  &  ye  meetinge  to  begin  w*''in  halfe  an  hower  after,  for 
w'^''  his  paynes  he  is  to  have  6d.  in  wampam  of  every  family  in  the 
towne  or  a  peck  of  Indian  corne  if  they  have  not  wampam."  A  bell  was 
procured  a  few  years  later,  and  Richard  Sikes  rang  it  and  swept  the 
house  for  Is.  a  week. 

In  March,  1646,  the  town  voted  for  "  y''  remayninge  40£  due  to 
Thomas  Cooper  for  y*^  compleatinge  of  y^  meeting  house,  30£  of  w*^** 
is  to  be  payed  into  him  b}'  y*^  last  of  this  month,  y"  other   10£  to  rest 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-2886.  95 


in  y""  Towns  hand  till  an  opportiinitv  appears  for  p'curinge  glass  or  till 
y^  howse  be  tinislied." 

The  town-meeting  usually  specified  the  kind  of  property  to  be 
taxed.  Thus  the  wolf  bounty  was  raised  from  a  tax  upon  "  all  sorts 
of  cattell,"  which  included  horses.  The  tax  for  Mr.  Moxon's  main- 
tenance, in  1647,  had  been  raised  upon  ''  all  lands  and  goods."  Coop- 
er's meeting-house  debt  was  met  by  a  tax  upon  '^  uplands  (meddows 
excepted)  and  living  stock."  A  special  connnittee  made  out  the  val- 
uation and  assessment.  Wheat  was  accepted  for  taxes  at  os.  \0d. 
per  bushel.  Indian  corn  at  2^.  M.  and  peas  at  3cL  per  bushel. 
The  tax  for  the  £30  due  Mr.  Pynchon  '^  for  y'^  purchas  of 
-s""  land  of  y''  Plantation  of  ye  Indians "  was  rated  "wholly  on 
lands."  The  latter  list  is  here  given  in  full  as  it  furnishes  the  names 
and  landed  importance  of  the  settlers  at  the  opening  of  the  year  1647. 
There  were  then  forty-two  lot-owners  and  six  vacant  lots,  some  of 
them  having  been  bought  back  by  the  town.  We  miss  the  names 
of  Jehu  Burr,  John  Cable,  John  Woodcock,  and  others  of  the  first 
settlers.  These  men  drifted  to  the  Connecticut  plantations,  and  were 
frequent  parties  in  lawsuits  for  some  3^ears  thereafter.  The  list  is 
as  follows  :  — 


Acres. 

£          s. 

d. 

liowland  Thomas 

294 

08 

02 

John  Stebbins 

m 

07 

08 

Miles  Morgan 

's\h 

09 

0(> 

James  Osburne 

40 

11 

00 

Tho:  Cooper 

41 

11 

04 

Mr  Wih:  Fyuehon 

237 

3         05 

06 

Mr  Elhz:  Holyoke 

125 

1          14 

06 

Henry  Smith 

148 

2         00 

08 

Mr  Moxon 

67 

18 

08 

Sa:  Chapen 

43 

12 

00 

Tho:  Keeve 

32 

08 

10 

Rich:  Sykes 

394 

11 

00 

Will:  Warener 

404 

11 

02 

Tho:  Stebbm 

34 

09 

05 

96  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-2886. 


Acres. 

£             s. 

d. 

ffra:  Ball 

33 

09 

02 

Robt:  Ashley 

51 

14 

04 

Joliii  Leonard 

Mh 

09 

06 

Tho:  Mirick 

46 

13 

00 

J:  Bridgeniaii 

41 

11 

04 

Alex:  Edwards 

(>oi 

16 

09 

Jno:   Clarke 

36 

10 

00 

AYid:  Deeble 

22 

06 

00 

Katherine  Johns 

19 

05 

04 

Kov.l:  Stebbin 

'i>ih 

10 

08 

Sa:  Wright 

4U 

11 

06 

Hen:  Burt 

474 

13 

04 

Jno:  Herman 

33 

09 

02 

Koger  Pritchard  : 

28 

07 

Oi) 

Nat:  Bliss 

oU 

14 

04 

Wid:  Haynes 

40i 

11 

02 

Tho:  Tomson 

56i 

15 

10 

Kich:  Exell 

404 

11 

02 

Jos:  Parsons 

m 

11 

09 

Jno  Matthews 

31 

08 

08 

AVill:  Branch 

274 

07 

08 

Geo:  Colton 

61 

16 

09 

Grif:  Jones 

364 

10 

00 

Keioe  Bedortha 

20 

05 

06 

Will:  Yahan 

6 

01 

08 

Benj:  Cooly 

404 

11 

02 

Hugh  Parsons 

374 

10 

04 

Jno:  Lutnbard 

25 

06 

10 

Vacant  Lott 

25 

06 

10 

2  Vacant  Lotts 

40 

11 

00 

8  Vacant  Lotts  al>ove 

60 

16 

06 

21784  30         11         02 

In  Jauiiary,  1646,  Miles  Morgan  and  George  Colton  were  commis- 
sioned to  "  get  a  Smith  for  y''  towne,"  and  we  find  that  in  the  following 
September  "A  bargaine  was  driven  the  day  above  s'^  betwixt  the  towne 


SPRTNGFIELD,    1636-1886.  97 

of  Springfeild  and  ffrancis  Ball  for  a  shopp  for  a  Smith  w^'*  is  to  be  1 2 
foote  wide,  16  foote  in  length,  five  foote  stodd  betwixt  Joynts,  a  chim- 
ney for  the  forge  rungd,  to  be  boarded  both  roof  and  sides,  to  make 
a  doore  and  windows  in  the  end  w"'  a  beam  in  y^  middst."  It  is 
difficult  to  tell  just  when  Miles  Morgan  came  to  Springfield,  but  he 
had  probably  been  a  resident  several  years  before  the  date  of  the 
above  order.  Comparative!}^  little  is  known  of  Miles  Morgan's  early 
life.  He  was  born  in  England,  lived  for  a  while  at  Bristol,  and  in  16o6 
came  to  this  country  when  a  young  man,  being  accompanied  by  two 
brothers.  The  story  that  Miles  ^Morgan  accompanied  the  Eoxbury 
pioneers  to  Springfield  is  utterly  untrue.  His  house-lot  was  on  the 
south  side  of  Ferry  lane  (Cypress  street) ,  the  site  of  Dr.  Chauncey 
Brewer's  residence.  During  the  voyage  to  America  young  Morgan 
made  the  acquaintance,  and,  we  ma}'  infer,  won  the  heart,  of  a  Miss 
Gilbert,  who  upon  landing  settled  with  her  family  at  Beverly.  After 
Morgan  had  built  him  a  house  in  Springfield  he  pressed  his  suit  with 
the  Beverly  maid,  —  not  by  letter,  as  is  stated,  for  the  simple  reason 
that  Miles  could  not  write.  The  negotiations  were  e\ddently  carried 
on  by  mutual  friends,  and  Morgan,  after  his  offer  was  accepted,  made 
the  journey  to  the  east  in  about  1643,  taking  with  him  two  neighbors 
and  an  Indian,  duly  armed.  We  are  told  that  Miles  and  his  three 
attendants  walked  back  all  the  way  from  Beverly,  while  the  bride  and 
^'some  household  stuff"  were  carried  by  the  only  horse  at  the  dis- 
posal of  this  unique  bridal  party.  Morgan  was  a  butcher  for  many 
years,  when  his  farming  operations  permitted. 

The  selectmen  chosen  in  the  autumn  of  1645  were  Lieutenant  Smith, 
Richard  Sikes,  Samuel  Chapin,  Thomas  Cooper,  and  Henry  Burt. 
The  selectmen  for  1646  were  Henry  Smith,  Elizur  Holyoke,  Samuel 
Chapin,  Henry  Burt,  and  Benjamin  Cooley.  That  year  Robert  Ash- 
ley was  licensed  to  keep  the  ordinary.  Henry  Burt's  house  was  on 
south  Main  street,  near  Broad.  He  was  a  very  active  man,  and  one 
of  his  sons  became  the  Deacon  Burt  of  the  First  church,  who  was 
so  much  honored   in  later  years. 


98  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

The  first  Tuesday  of  November  was  settled  upon  for  the  regular 
annual  town-meeting,  which  was  quite  a  change  from  the  early 
habit  of  holding  monthly  town-meetings. 

The  fine  for  absence  from  town-meeting,  or  for  leaving  the  meeting 
before  "  y*"  blessinge  is  desired,"  was  raised  in  1646  to  one  bushel  of 
Indian  corn. 

But  centralization  invited  suspicions.  Two  months  after  the 
election  of  the  second  board  of  townsmen  in  was  voted  in  town- 
meeting  that  they  should  publish  their  orders  "  after  Lecture  or  at 
any  trayninge  day  or  any  other  publique  meetinge."  In  case  the 
town  within  a  week  did  not  pass  a  ' '  negative  vote  "  the  selectmen's 
order  was  to  stand  as  the  act  of  the  town.  Having  made  this  pro- 
vision the  town  put  into  the  hands  of  its  selectmen  the  duty  of  as- 
signing meadow  lands  to  those  entitled  to  a  share  under  the  rules 
then  prevailing. 

The  townsmen  began  keeping  a  record  of  their  acts  in  April,  1647. 
Thomas  Cooper  was  this  year  substituted  for  Holyoke  upon  the  board. 
Francis  Ball  and  Miles  Morgan  were  surveyors  for  the  upper  part  of 
the  town,  and  John  Clarke  and  John  Herman  for  the  lower  part. 
Their  special  instructions,  besides  keeping  the  highways  in  condition, 
were  to  open  "  a  Horse  way  over  the  meddow  to  y*"  Bay  path,"  and 
a  "  Bridge  over  the  3  corner  Brooke  into  the  plaine."  In  1648  the 
following  were  made  freemen :  John  Pynchon,  Elizur  Holyoke, 
Henry  Burt,  Roger  Pritchard,  Samuel  Wright,  and  William  Branch. 

The  year  before  the  Greneral  Court  had  authorized  William 
Pynchon  to  administer  the  freeman's  oath  at  Springfield  to  "  those 
that  are  in  covenant  &  live  according  to  their  p'^fession."  The  word- 
ing of  the  vote  —  "  liberty  was  granted  M'  Pinchon  to  make  freemen" 
—  would  seem  to  imply  that  he  was  the  judge  of  an  inhabitant's 
qualifications  for  freemanship. 

No  change  was  made  in  the  townsmen  until  1650,  when  John 
Pynchon,   Henry    Smith,   Samuel    Chapin,  Henry  Burt,  and  Thomas 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  99 


Cooper  were  chosen.     John  Pynchon   now  began  to  figure  promi- 
nently in  local  affairs,  being  elected  the  town  treasurer. 

Much  trouble  was  in  those  days  occasioned  by  breaches  of  the 
town  order  as  to  swine,  and  it  was  specially  decreed,  in  1646,  that :  — 

All  swine  that  breake  into  any  mans  come  ground  or  meddowe  y*  is  sufficiently 
fenced  against  yoked  hoggs  :  in  case  men  let  y""  Swine  run  abroad  unyoked  if 
they  breake  in  and  doe  any  man  Trespass,  then  ye  master  of  the  sayd  Swine 
shall  be  lyable  to  pay  all  damages  as  two  indifferent  men  shall  Judge  ye  damadge 
to  be  :  but  if  Swine  be  yoked  and  runge  then  they  are  free  from  damages. 

The  townsmen  took  the  matter  up  the  year  following,  and  ordered 
that : — 

All  SAvine  that  keepe  about  his  howse  or  neere  any  corne  ground  belonging  to 
the  Plantation  and  not  under  the  hand  or  custody  of  a  keeper,  shall  be  suffi- 
ciently yoked  and  runge,  according  to  the  age  and  bigness  of  the  swine  :  And  in 
case  any  Swine  that  are  above  the  age  of  six  months  shall  be  found  in  the  streete 
or  about  any  of  y^  Common  fences  of  the  corn  fields  with  out  yoke  &  runge : 
It  shall  be  lawfull  for  any  person  soe  findinge  them,  to  drive  them  to  the  pound 
(w^i^  may  be  any  mans  privat  yard  or  out  howse  in  y®  present  defect  of  a  comon 
pound)  p' vided  alsoe  \^  he  give  the  owner  of  the  sayd  Swine  notice  of  his  im- 
poundinge  them  with  in  24  hours  after  it  is  soe  done,  etc. 

We  have  transcribed  several  notes  of  passing  interest.  Ordered  by 
the  town  in  November,  1646  :  — 

That  Jno  Clarke  or  those  that  shall  Joyne  with  him  in  ye  burninge  of  Tan- 
shall  have  liberty  to  gather  candlewood  in  ye  playne  in  ye  Bay  path :  p' vided 
they  come  not  to  gather  any  in  tliis  side  the  great  pond  and  ye  swamps  that 
point  out  from  it  to  Chickopee  river  and  the  Mill  river  w^'i  is  Judged  to  be  about 
five  miles  from  the  towne. 

Ordered  by  the  town  in  September,  1647  :  — 

Y*^  no  person  shall  gather  any  hops  that  grow  in  ye  Swamps  or  in  the  comon 
grounds  untill  this  p'"sent  day  yearly  upon  payne  of  forfeitinge  what  they  shall 


100  SPRINGFIELD,    16S6-18S6. 

soe  disorderly  gather,  &  2s.  6d.  for  breach  of  order.     The  forfeiture  to  y''  in- 
former &  ye  penalty  to  y^  town  treasury. 

Ordered  by  the  town  in  January,  1640  :  — 

Y'  if  any  trees  be  feld  having  no  other  worke  bestowed  on  y'"  above  6 
months  from  this  day  forAvard  in  y^'  Comons,  it  shall  be  lawfull  for  any  man  to 
take  them,  but  any  tymber  yt  is  cross  cutt,  or  firewood  y'  is  cut  out  &  set  on 
heapes,  or  rayles,  or  clefts  for  pales,  no  man  may  take  any  of  these  till  it  have 
lyen  twelve  months  after  it  is  soe  cross  cutt  or  cloven. 

The  townsmen  then  declared  it  unhiwful  to  transport  outside  the 
town  limits  any  "  buildinge  tymbers,  board  loggs  or  sawne  boards 
or  planks,  or  shingle  tymber  or  pipe  staves."  The  tow^nsmen  also 
decreed  that  "  Whereas  it  is  judged  offensive  and  noysome  for  flax 
&  hempe  to  be  watered  or  washed  in  the  Brooke  before  mens  doores, 
y*^  is  of  ordinary  use  for  dressiuge  meate  :  Therefore  it  is  ordered  that 
no  p^°"  shall  hence  forth  water  any  flax  or  hempe  in  the  sayd  brooke  " 
on  pain  of  a  6s.  8d.  fine. 

April,  1649:  — 

Henry  Smith  &  Samuell  Chapen  were  chosen  to  seal  up  our  ffreemens 
votes  for  magistrates  &  to  send  them  sealed  up  to  John  Johnson  of  Roxbury,  who 
is  chosen  for  our  deputy  to  y*^  Generall  Court. 

William  Pynchon  held  court  four  times  a  year,  all  breaches  of  the 
peace  being  presented  by  a  grand  jury  of  two  men.  In  April,  1648, 
Thomas  Mirrick  was  mulcted  in  126-.  d>d.  for  abusing  the  child  of 
Alexander  Edwards.  It  is  believed  that  Mr.  Moxon  usually  opened 
court  with  prayer.  The  town-meetings  now  were  held  in  the  meeting- 
house. In  later  years  taverns  were  sometimes  utilized  for  that 
purpose. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

1648-1652. 

Witchcraft. -Mystei-ious  Lights  seen  at  Night.  -  Mrs.  Bedortha.  -  Hugh  Parsons's 
Threat.  —  Mrs.  Parsons  condemned  for  Slander.  —  Mary  Parsons  bewitched.  —  Par- 
sons arrested.  -Mrs.  Parsons  accuses  herself  of  Child-Murder.  -  Taken  to  Boston. 

—  Mrs.  Parsons  sentenced  to  be  hanged.  -  Death  before  the  Day  of  Execution.— 
Pecowsic.  —  John  Pynchon's  growing  Importance.  —  Church  Expenses.  —  William 
Pynchon's  Heretical  Book  condemned  by  the  General  Court.  —  Mr.  Norton's  Reply. 

-  The  Doctrine  of  the  Atonement.  -The  Protest  of  Sir  Henry  Yane  and  the  Reply 
of  the  General  Court.  -  Pynchon,  Moxon,  and  Smith  return  to  England. 

The  task  of  recording  the  storj  of  early  New  England  is  made 
embarrassing  by  an  amiable  disposition  to  remember  a  people  by 
their  virtues  only.  While  the  stalwart  devotion  of  our  forefathers 
to  their  faith  makes  an  irresistible  appeal  to  us,  their  superstitions  are 
continually  intruding  themselves  and  making  it  impossible  to  forget 
that  they  were  the  children  of  an  ignorant  and  somewhat  unreflecting 
age.  They  were  self-assertive,  brave,  and  biblical,  rather  than  intui- 
tive. Up  to  Jonathan  Edwards's  time  one  looks  in  despair  for  any  con- 
scious or  serious  attempt  in  New  England  to  verify  the  teachings  of 
the  gospel  in  reason.  With  close  interpretations  of  texts  they  weie 
content  to  rest ;  the  terrors  of  witchcraft  came  constructively  within 
this  interpretation,  and  formed  a  part  of  the  belief  of  the  age  on  both 
sides  of  the  ocean.  The  witch  was  not  the  invention  of  the  Puritans. 
The  belief  in  a  veritable  devil  of  ponderable  shape  was  general 
in  the  seventeenth  century.  The  Bible  accounts  of  devils  dwelling 
in  earthly  habitations  were  its  justification.  Men  and  women,  it  was 
believed,  made  a  league  with  familiar  spirits,  entering  into  secret 
compacts  with  them,  and  for  the  price  of  their  souls  secured  for  a 
time  a  diabolical   control  over  the   laws  of  nature.     These  persons 


102  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

were  called  witches.  Personal  ugliness  was  a  characteristic  of  the 
witch  in  the  popular  mind.  When  the  Shakespearean  Gloucester  said 
to  Queen  Margaret : 

"  Foul  Avrinkled  Avitch,  what  makest  thou  in  my  sight?" 

he  linked  a  current  superstition  of  personal  ugliness  to  a  deed  of 
blood.  Witchcraft  was  a  statute  crime  in  England,  where  no  less 
than  thirt}^  thousand  lives  had  been  sacrificed  upon  the  gibbet  and  at 
the  stake  to  crush  it  out.  The  league  of  Mephistopheles  and  Faust, 
which  was  poetry  to  the  Germans,  was  to  the  English  a  vulgar  offence 
against  law. 

In  the  lower  part  of  Main  street,  which  in  1648  must  have  resembled 
somewhat  a  forest  road,  with  clearings  on  the  river-side  to  make 
room  for  log-cabins,  barns,  and  young  orchards,  lived  Rice  Bedortha 
and  his  wife  Blanche.  They  had  as  neighbors  upon  the  Mill  river 
side,  Benjamin  Cooley,  Jonathan  Burt,  Hugh  Parsons,  and  John 
Lombard  ;  while  to  the  north  dwelt  Griffith  Jones  and  John  Matthews. 
Five  doors  above  was  George  Langton.  In  this  remote  part  of  the 
town  the  witch  fever  started.  These  houses  were  situated  on  the 
border  of  the  wet  meadows,  and  it  is  quite  likely  that  at  times 
marsh  lights  were  seen  after  dark.  Mrs.  Bedortha,  at  any  rate,  so 
asserted  ;  and  there  were  things  happening  in  that  part  of  the  town, 
mysterious  things,  that  were  enough  to  make  the  cold  moisture 
stand  upon  the  brow  of  the  bravest. 

Skulking  lights  at  dead  of  night  out  on  the  marshes  were  not  the 
worst.  Blanche  Bedortha  told  all  along  the  street  how  Hugh  Par- 
sons, her  neighbor  three  doors  below,  had  called  at  the  house  one 
day  to  see  her  husband  about  some  bricks.  While  the  two  men  were 
talking  she  joined  in  the  conversp.tion.  "  Gammer,"  exclaimed  Par- 
sons sharply,  "  you  needed  not  have  said  an3^thing.  I  spake  not  to 
you  ;  but  I  shall  remember  you  when  you  little  think  on  it."  Mr. 
Bedortha  was  naturally  offended  at  Parsons's  outburst,  and  declared 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6.  103 


that  it  was  "  no  good  speech."  The  situation  was  in  no  way  extraor- 
dinary. A  woman  says  an  unnecessary  thing,  a  man  retorts  with 
feeling,  and  things  get  involved. 

The  men  probably  soon  forgot  the  circumstance,  but  Mrs.  Bedortha 
did  not;  she  treasured  the  threat  of  Hugh  Parsons.  She  thought  of 
it  at  her  work  ;  she  told  of  it  when  out  among  her  neighbors ;  and  she 
trembled  with  secret  fear  when  she  retired  at  night.  "  I  shall  re- 
member 3^ou  when  you  little  think  on  it !  "  These  were  the  words 
that  rang  in  her  ears.  One  night,  as  she  was  retiring,  she  was  star- 
tled by  three  flaslies  of  light.  They  appeared  to  come  from  the  inside 
of  her  red  shag  cotton  "  waistcoat,"  which  she  had  just  taken  off  and 
was  about  to  hang  upon  a  peg.  She  quickly  held  up  the  garment 
between  her  hands  a  second  time,  but  there  was  no  flash.  A  double 
Indian  mat  was  between  her  and  the  fire,  so  that  no  light  could  have 
been  cast  from  that.  For  several  nights  she  held  up  the  red  waist- 
coat, but  no  flash  of  light  was  seen. 

A  month  later  Mrs.  Bedortha  was  delivered  of  a  child.  Before 
her  recovery  she  became  afflicted  in  a  strange,  mysterious  way.  She 
felt  upon  her  left  side  sharp  pains  as  though  pierced  b}^  knives  in 
three  different  places.  "Suddenly  after,"  she  said,  "my  thoughts 
were  that-  this  evil  might  come  upon  me  from  the  said  threatening 
speech  of  Hugh  Parsons.  I  do  not  apprehend  that  I  was  sick  in  any 
other  part  of  my  body,  but  in  the  said  three  places  only,  and  by  the 
extremity  of  these  prickings  only."  Those  who  are  familiar  with 
Cotton  Mather's  elaborate  accounts  of  how  the  little  "gentleman  in 
black  "  was  in  the  habit  of  pinching  and  pricking  people,  will  at  once 
see  the  drift  of  such  e^^dence.  Her  nurse  was  a  widow,  Mrs. 
Marshfield,  Avho  had  once  lived  at  Windsor,  herself  a  character  not 
free  from  rumored  connection  with  witchcraft.  It  is  within  the  possi- 
bilities that  the  widow  at  once  went  all  through  the  neighborhood,  and 
while  the  good  matrons  were  carding  or  spinning  (for  it  was  then  win- 
ter) described  the  prickings  as  well  as  the  threatenings  of  Hugh  Par- 
sons.    And  it  is  not  at  all  improbable  that  Mrs.  Parsons  (Mary  Lewis) 


104  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

heard  of  the  reflections  upon  her  husband's  character  with  high  re- 
sentment. Widow  Marshfield  and  Goody  Parsons  at  any  rate  fell 
out.  "There  are  divers  strange  lights  seen  of  late  in  the  meddow 
that  were  never  seen  before  y*"  Widdow  Marshfeild  came  to  towne," 
said  Mrs.  Parsons  by  way  of  a  home-thrust  at  Mrs.  Marshfield. 
Mrs.  Parsons  also  went  along  the  street  and  elaborated  her  case 
against  the  widow  Marshfield.  She  charged  that  the  widow  envied 
every  child  born  at  Windsor  until  her  daughter  became  a  mother,  but 
that  the  child  soon  died, —  a-nd  so  did  her  cow!  "It  was  publicly 
known,"  whispered  Goody  Parsons,  "that  the  devil  followed  her 
at  her  house  in  Windsor,  and  for  ought  I  know  follows  her  here." 
This  talking  match  between  the  two  goodies  culminated  in  a  suit 
for  slander,  brought  by  Mrs.  Bedortha's  widowed  nurse  against 
Mrs.  Parsons  ;  and  William  Pynchon,  after  due  deliberation,  con- 
demned Mrs.  Parsons  to  twenty  lashes,  to  be  administered  by  the 
constable  after  lecture,  or  to  pay  to  Mrs.  Marshfield  £3  damages 
"  towards  the  reparation  of  her  good  name." 

The  payment  of  this  fine  to  the  widow  was  in  Indian  corn,  twenty- 
four  bushels,  and  when  it  was  offered  Hugh  asked  her  to  abate  one- 
third  ;  but  she  refused,  because ,  Hugh  had  said  after  the  trial  that 
her  witnesses  had  given  false  testimony.  Thereupon  Parsons  ex- 
claimed in  his  usual  recklessly  mysterious  way,  "  Take  it  I  "  and  he 
added,  "  It  will  be  but  as  wildfire  to  this  house  and  as  a  moth  to  your 
garment  I'll  warrant  you,  and  make  account  it  is  but  lent  you  ! " 
Mrs.  Marshfield  secured  her  corn,  but  with  it  the  fatalitv  of  some 
overhanging  machination. 

Mrs.  Marshfield,  who  was  the  sister  of  Samuel  Marshfield,  so  often 
figuring  in  our  early  history,  was  continually  on  the  watch.  Her 
daughter  was  presently  taken  with  fits.  The  threats  and  the  fits  ran 
hand  in  hand  all  over  the  excited  plantation.  They  visited  every 
household,  and  frightened  the  godly  folk  half  out  of  their  wits  ;  but 
no  one  seemed  called  upon  to  secure  the  arrest  of  Parsons.  Martha 
Moxon  and  her  sister,  daughters  of  the  minister,  had  previous  to  this 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  105 

also  been  taken  down  with  fits,  and  the  reverend  father  at  once  recalled 
the  fact  that  Parsons  had  grumbled  because  compelled  to  build  his 
chimney  according  to  contract,  and  had  even  made  a  mysterious  re- 
mark that  the  bricks  would  do  Moxon  no  good. 

Public  opinion  now  rjiu  strongly  against  the  Parsonses.  No  devi- 
ation from  the  dead  prose  of  life  could  take  place,  but  it  was  mys- 
teriously connected  with  the  quarrelsome  family  in  the  lower  part  of 
the  street.  Whenever  the  red  coat  of  Hugh  Parsons  appeared, 
women  trembled  and  clung  to  their  children.  The  terrible  fact  was 
whispered  in  every  kitchen,  —  Springfield  had  a  witch  ! 

Five  months  after  the  Marshfield-Parsons  slander  case  the  wife  of 
Hugh  Parsons  gave  birth  to  a  child,  which  lived  but  a  year.  The 
mother's  condition  now  became  serious.  Her  husband  was  calcu- 
lated by  nature  to  irritate  and  annoy  her.  When  he  was  about  the 
house  frequent  disagreements  occurred,  and  his  long  absences  she 
considered  heartless  neglect  of  his  family.  These  strained  relations, 
the  eye  of  suspicion  and  the  finger  of  the  gossip  turned  upon  them 
by  the  community,  and  finally  the  death  of  the  child,  worked  Mrs. 
Mary  Parsons's  highly-strung  organism  into  a  flighty,  hysterical  con- 
dition. She  was  Being  pushed  down  one  more  step  in  the  long  stair- 
case that  led  her  from  vivacious  maidenhood  to  the  level  of  a  social 
outcast  and  the  inmate  of  prisons. 

Sarah,  the  wife  of  Alexander  Edwards,  added  to  the  fear  of  Hugh 
Parsons  by  telling  how  he  had  called  at  their  house  for  milk,  and 
how,  after  she  had  refused  to  give  him  more  than  a  pennyworth,  the 
cow  almost  ''  dried  up,"  and  the  next  day  the  milk  was  as  "  yellow 
as  saffron,"  and  each  day  it  turned  to  some  other  ''  strange  odd 
color."  Neighbor  Griffith  Jones,  not  to  be  outdone  in  the  relation  of 
wonders  about  the  doings  of  Parsons,  told  the  Bedorthas,  who  lived 
next  door,  that  upon  the  Lord's  day  he  had  left  his  wife  at  a  neigh- 
'bor's  house  after  the  first  sermon,  and  gone  home.  He  proceeded  to 
"  take  up  "  his  dinner  and  to  put  it  "  on  a  little  table  made  on  a 
cradle  head."     He  then  looked  for  a  knife,  he  having  two,   but  they 


106  SPRIXGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


were  both  missing,  and  so  he  was  compelled  to  use  at  dinner  an  old 
rusty  knife  in  a  basket  "  where  I  had  things  to  mend  shoes  withall." 
After  clearing  away  his  dinner  dishes  he  laid  the  rusty  knife  on  the 
corner  of  the  table  "  to  cutt  a  Pip  of  Tobacco  w*^all,"  fed  his  pig, 
which  had  come  up  close  to  the  door,  and  returned,  only  to  find  three 
I'uives  on  the  table,  "  w*''' made  me  blush!"  He  had  presence  of 
mind  to  cut  his  pipe  of  tobacco,  however,  and  at  that  very  instant 
Parsons  came  in  and  asked  if  he  was  ready  to  return  to  the  meeting- 
house. They  smoked  together,  and  Jones  told  all  through  the  neigh- 
borhood that  Parsons  had  bewitched  the  knives. 

Anthony  Dorchester,  employed  by  Parsons,  had  one-fourth  interest 
in  a  cow  wliich  when  killed  was  divided,  his  employer  owning  another 
one-fourth.  Both  wanted  the  tongue  of  the  animal,  but  it  fell  to 
Dorchester,  and  subsequeutl3%  when  cooking  it,  it  m^'steriously  dis- 
appeared from  the  pot.  It  was  the  work  of  a  witch,  of  course. 
George  Lankton  slipped  a  pudding  out  of  a  bag  one  day  after  it  was 
cooked,  his  wife  Hannah  being  indisposed,  and  the  pudding  parted 
from  end  to  end  as  though  cut  with  a  knife.  Lankton  had  previously 
refused  to  sell  Parsons  some  hay.  Parsons  made  a  bargain  for  a 
piece  of  land  of  Thomas  Miller,  and  ^Miller  immediately  thereafter 
cut  his  leg  while  chopping.  Men  heard  strange  noises  at  night  like 
filing  of  saws.  Blanche  Bedortha's  child,  now  two  years  old, 
cried  out  one  day  that  it  was  afraid  of  Parsons's  dog  :  Parsons  had 
no  dog.  Parsons  was  at  Longmeadow  at  work  when  he  heard  of  the 
death  of  his  second  child.  Several  people  were  near  him  and  heard 
him  sa}^,  "  I  will  cut  a  pipe  of  tobacco  before  I  go  home."  The 
speech  was  in  everybody's  mouth  before  the  day  was  done,  and  when 
appealed  to  for  an  explanation  for  this  unfatherl}^  placidity,  he  re- 
plied, "  I  was  very  full  of  sorrow  for  the  death  of  it  iu  private, 
though  uot  in  public."  Even  the  worthy  Henry  Smith  could  not  with- 
stand the  infection.  He  had  once  refused  to  sell  Parsons  some  peas, 
and  in  the  summer  of  1648  it  was  remembered  that  two  of  his  chil- 
dren had  died. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  107 

The  effect  upon  ]Mr«.  Parsons  was  pitiable.  She  was  ah-eacly  in  a 
decline,  suffering  from  consumption.  Her  ever}-  movement  was 
watched.  Disgrace  followed  close  upon  her  heels,  and  her  wavering- 
mind  invited  a  subtle  suspicion  :  Was  not  her  own  husband  really  a 
witch?  The  traged}^  had  begun,  —  Mrs.  Parsons  was  becoming  in- 
sane. The  suspicion  that  her  husband  was  in  league  with  the  devil 
became  a  mania.  She  watched  him  with  cat-like  tenacity.  When  he 
lay  asleep  she  would  search  for  the  little  black  marks  which  in  those 
days  the  devil  was  supposed  to  put  upon  those  making  a  covenant  of 
witchcraft.  She  did  not  find  the  devil's  sign-manual  upon  his  body, 
but  he  talked  wildly  in  his  sleep,  and  had  satanic  dreams,  which  he 
narrated  upon  waking.     So  time  wore  on. 

The  death  of  Mrs.  Parsons's  second  child,  Joshua,  took  place 
March  1,  1651.  She  was  now  ready  for  the  worst,  and  she  went 
before  Magistrate  P^aichon  and  made  oath  that  her  husband  was  a 
witch,  and  was  the  cause  of  the  death  of  her  infant.  Parsons  him- 
self had  been  under  legal  examination  some  time  before. 

''Ah,  Witch!  Ah,  Witch !  "  cried  Goody  Stebbins  as  Constable 
Mirrick  took  Parsons  past  her  door,  and  she  fell  down  in  a  fit. 
Miles  Morgan  had  been  visiting  Thomas  Miller  when  the  dreaded  man 
had  approached  a  short  time  before,  and  he  saw  Miller's  wife  fly  into 
a  passion  and  cry,  ''  Get  thee  gone,  Hugh  Parsons  I  Get  thee  gone  ! 
If  thou  wilt  not  goe,  I  will  goe  to  M^  Pynchon  and  he  shall  have, 
thee  away  !  "  and  she  too  fell  prostrate  upon  the  ground.  The  red 
coat  of  Hugh  Parsons  was  the  nightmare  of  the  \'illage. 

The  examination  before  Mr.  Pynchon  only  added  to  the  conster- 
nation of  the  community.  Jonathan  Taylor,  after  listening  to  Mrs. 
Parsons's  evidence  against  her  husband,  saw  in  his  dreams  three 
snakes  on  the  floor,  and  one  of  them  with  black  and  yellow  stripes 
bit  him  on  the  forehead.  He  then  heard  a  solemn  voice  cr}^  out, 
"  Death  !  "  That  voice  was  like  the  voice  of  Hugh  Parsons.  "  Death  ! 
That  is  a  lie  !  "  shouted  Taylor  ;  "  it  was  never  known  that  such  a 
snake  killed  a  man."     But  Taylor  was  by  this  time  shaking  so  that  he 


108  SPRING  FIELD,    1636-1886. 


roused  his  wife,  who  did  everything  to  rescue  him  from  his  unseemly 
dreams.  After  Mary  Parsons  had  made  oath  to  the  witchcraft 
of  her  husband  she  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  Thomas  Cooper  for 
safe-keeping,  and  as  Cooper  watched  the  wretched,  unnerved  woman, 
he  could  not  refrain  from  asking  her  questions,  either  from  curiosity, 
pity,  or  a  desire  to  extract  new  evidence.  Here  is  the  record  of  Mr. 
Cooper's  remarkable  testimony  :  — 

I  said  to  her  why  do  you  speak  so  of  y'  Husband ;  methinks  if  he  Avere  a  witch 
there  would  some  apparent  Signe  or  Mark  of  it  appeare  upon  his  Body,  for  they 
say  Witches  have  Teates  uppon  some  p'  or  other  of  their  Body,  but  as  far  as  I 
heere  there  is  not  any  such  apparent  Thinge  uppon  his  Body.  She  answered,  it 
is  not  always  so;  but,  said  she,  why  do  I  say  so.  I  have  no  Skill  in  Witchery; 
but,  said  she,  why  may  it  not  be  with  hira  as  it  was  with  me ;  that  Night  I  was  at 
Goodman  Ashhes  :  tlie  Devell  may  come  into  his  body  only  Uke  a  Wind,  and  so 
goe  forth  againe,  for  so  the  Divill  tould  me  that  night  (for  I  think  I  should  have 
bin  a  Witch  afore  now  but  that  I  was  afraid  to  see  the  Divill,  lest  he  should  fright 
me.)  But  the  Divill  tould  me  that  I  should  not  Feare  that  (I  Avill  not  come  in 
any  Apparition,  but  only  come  into  thy  Body  like  a  Wind,  and  trouble  thee  a  little 
While,  and  p^sntly  go  forth  againe  ;)  and  so  I  conseiited  ;  and  that  Night  I  Avas  with 
my  Husband  and  Good  wife  Mericke  and  Besse  Sewell,  in  Goodman  Stebbinges  his 
Lott;  and  we  were  sometymes  likeCatts,  and  sometymes  in  our  owne  shape,  and 
we  were  a  plodding  for  some  good  cheere ;  and  they  made  me  to  go  baref oote 
and  mak  the  Tiers,  because  I  had  declared  so  much  at  M"".  Pvnchon's. 


Wretched  woman  !  She  had  been  made  victim  to  every  relation  of 
life,  whether  as  wife,  inhabitant,  or  church  member.  Her  first  mar- 
riage to  a  Roman  Catholic  had  brought  her  into  bad  odor ;  her  second 
marriage  to  a  talkative,  happy-go-lucky,  pipe-smoking  bricklayer, 
who  evidently  had  a  way  of  appropriating  other  people's  goods  on 
occasion,  and  maliciously  resenting  all  reflections  upon  his  character, 
drew  her  down  to  a  level  of  life  where  even  her  strong  points  but 
made  fuel  for  the  fires  of  persecution.  This  highly-strung  creature 
was  forced  to  lose,  first,  respect  for  her  neighbors,  then  respect  for 
her  husband,  and  finally  respect  for  herself.      Then   her  mind  gave 


SPRINGFIELD,    2636-1886.  109 

way,  but  not  her  self -consciousness  ;  for  her  final  terror  came  upon 
her  with  all  the  force  of  remorse.  She  had  charged  her  husband  with 
murder  and  witchcraft.  This  was  her  remorse.  "  They  made  me  to 
go  barefoote,  and  mak  the  fires,  because  I  had  declared  so  much  at 
M^  Pynchon's."  These  words  give  the  full  force  of  her  remorse. 
Her  husband  had  been  carried  to  Boston  (about  March  20,  1651),  but 
more  evidence  was  being  taken  against  him  at  Springfield,  to  be  for- 
warded to  the  Bay.  Madness  and  remorse  brought  a  change  in  the 
burden  of  her  talk,  and  Mrs.  Parsons  finall}^  confessed  that  the  blood 
of  her  child  was  upon  her  own  hands.  She  w^ent  farther,  and  declared 
herself  to  be  under  the  influence  of  vSatan.  Her  wild  words  were  ac- 
cepted for  the  sober  truth,  and  she  too  was  conveyed  to  Boston  under 
arrest  for  both  murder  and  witchcraft.  If  her  distracted  brain  re- 
sponded in  any  degree  to  an  appreciation  of  the  situation,  she  at  least 
had  the  sad  relief  of  knowing  that  the  same  tongue  which  had  placed 
her  husband  under  the  shadow  of  the  gallows  had  undone  the  mis- 
chief in  part  by  putting  her  by  his  side,  or  rather  in  his  place.  Mrs. 
Parsous's  jury  in  Ma}"  accepted  her  crazy  confession  of  child-murder, 
but  refused  to  believe  her  a  witch.  The  General  Court  confirmed  the 
verdict ;  she  was  sentenced  to  be  hanged,  and  the  death  watch  was 
placed  over  her. 

Upon  the  morning  named  for  the  execution  she  was  too  feeble  to 
be  moved  from  her  cell,  and  she  was  respited.  The  second  da}"  of 
doom  came,  but  Mary  Lewis  Parsons  lay  dead  upon  her  couch.  She 
is  as  much  a  martyr  to  be  held  ni  commiserating  memory  by  us,  as 
many  others  who  fell  by  the  way  during  the  making  of  Springfield. 

The  trial  of  Hugh  Parsons  in  June  ended  in  conviction,  but  in  May, 
1652,  the  General  Court  refused  to  confirm  the  verdict,  and  he  es- 
caped the  gallows.  He  left  Boston,  and  probably  Massachusetts, 
and  was  never  seen  in  Springfield  again. 

While  the  machinery  of  local  government  w^ent  steadily  on,  there 
are  not  wanting  indications  of  an  unsettled  spirit  in  the  community. 
Many  of  the  inhabitants  had  shown  a  decided  preference  for  "  the 


110  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

longe  meddowe,"  and,  foreseeing  that  that  part  of  the  town  was  des- 
tined to  grow  in  importMUce,  a  request  was  lodged  for  a  permit  to 
surrender  the  planting-grounds  upon  the  river-bank,  and  to  take  lands 
back  upon  the  next  plantation.  This  request  was  granted  in  1648. 
Three  years  after,  lands  were  apportioned  at  Pecowsic  and  Mill  river 
as  follows  :  — 

The  names  of  such  as  have  meddow  granted  y™,  &  how  they  are  to  ly,  by  lot. 
On  Pacowsick  beginning  at  y"^  lower  end. 


Benj'^  Cooly   lys 

1st 

who  hath  3  acres 

Anthony  Dorchester 

2d 

•1  acres 

Widdow  Bhss 

3d 

3 

Koger  Prichard  &    ^ 
John  Lumbard          j 

4th 

1  &^ 

Nath  Pritchard 

5th 

4 

John  Harmon 

6th 

H 

On  y*'  Mill  River  beginning  lowermost 

on  y« 

south 

east 

branch,  &  so  going 

ip  to  y*"  litle  brooke  &  then  upward 

to  y 

^-IQ- 

acres, 

and 

so  on  to  ye  North- 

iranch  and  y«  upper  end  &  then  come 

downward  &  lasth 

'  toy 

e  lake  or  pond. 

Wm  Clark 

1st 

4  acres 

Nath  Bhss 

2d 

2 

Miles  Morgan 

3d 

2 

Jno  Leanord 

4th 

2 

Rich  Exell 

5th 

Ih' 

Jonathan  Burt 

6th 

Ih 

Sam  Marshfield 

7 

1 

Benja  Mun 

8 

1 

James  Bridgman 

9 

2 

Mr  Moxon 

10 

2 

Jno  Drembleton 

11 

4 

Henry  Chapen 

12 

4 

Robert  Ashly 

13 

3i 

John  Lamb 

14 

5 

Tho:  Mirick 

15 

3 

Henry  Burt 

16 

3 

Wm  Warinar 

17 

1 

Rice  Bedortha 

18 

1 

SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  Ill 

Tho  Cooper  19  1 

Jonath  Taylor  20  1 

Sam  Chapen  21  1 

Robert  Ashley's  section  was  given  on  condition  that  he  keep  an 
ordinary,  but  it  was  to  be  surrendered  in  case  he  failed  in  this 
respect. 

The  fact  that  John  Pynchon  was  becoming  an  extensive  trader  and 
business  man  was  probably  due  to  the  encouragement  of  his  father, 
who  felt  that  he  himself  was  not  destined  to  spend  his  closing  days  in 
Springfield.  The  son  was  pushed  forward  in  both  public  and  private 
affairs,  and  soon  gained  the  confidence  of  the  community.  In  the 
winter  of  1650  we  find  that,  "It  is  agreed  by  the  Towne  that  if 
]VP.  John  Pynchon  will  make  a  chamber  over  the  meeting-house  and 
board  it :  he  shall  have  the  use  of  it  entirely  to  himself  for  Ten  years," 
when  the  town  could  secure  it  by  paying  the  expense  of  building  it. 
A  year  later  a  dispute  arose  between  John  Pynchon  and  the  town 
over  this  chamber.  The  young  man  used  the  chamber  for  storing- 
corn  ;  many  feared  that  the  grain  would  come  down  upon  their  heads, 
and  he  was  limited  to  400  bushels  at  one  time,  unless  he  "  underprop 
y^  floor."     The  town  finally  bought  the  chamber  outright. 

There  is  not  a  line  of  manuscript  of  this  period  extant  that  can 
be  pointed  to  as  evidence  that  the  course  of  Mr.  Moxon's  teachings 
was  not  in  full  accord  with  the  orthodox  views  of  the  times,  and  yet  it 
is  more  than  probable  that  he  differed  with  the  great  divines  down  at 
the  Bay.  One  wonders  what  was  the  occasion  of  this  action,  taken 
Dec.  27,  1649:  "It  is  alsoe  ordered  y*  y^  select  Townsmen  ^Y^^ 
y®  Deacons  shall  in  y''  behalfe  of  the  Towne  draw  up  &  send  down 
to  y^  elders  a  letter  desiring  y""  to  explaine  y^  cleere  meaninge  of 
y  voates  concerninge  M'.  Moxon's  maintenance." 

In  1652  John  P^^nchon  headed  a  committee  to  bargain  with  Mr. 
Moxon  for  all  of  his  Springfield  real  estate,  which,  after  due  delibera- 
tion and  several  meetings,  was  brought  about,  the  agreement  being  that 


112  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

his  home-lot  aud  buildings,  and  all  of  his  meadow,  wood,  and  plant- 
iog-oTounds  should  ''  Remaine  for  ever  to  y^  use  of  y''  Inhabitants 
of  Springfeild."  In  1655  a  formal  vote  was  passed  dedicating  this 
property  for  the  perpetual  use  of  the  ministry.  The  price  paid  Mr. 
Moxon  for  his  property  was  £70.  This  was  about  what  he  received 
as  a  yearly  stipend,  but  there  had  been  some  uncertainty  even  about 
this,  as  can  be  inferred  from  a  clause  in  the  following  treasurer's 
account,  approved  Jan.  30,  1651  :  — 

M'.  Moxon's  maintenance       ........ 

M^  Will.  Pynchon  for  the  Bell 

for  M"".  Moxon  wch  he  pd  for  y*"  Towne  npon  y^  close  last  yeare, 
M^  John  Pynchon  for  a  harrell  of  powder  for  a  towne  stock 
1  qr  11  lbs  muskett  bullets  &  ye  caske  ..... 

50  L  of  match  &c  .........         . 

for  y*^  cartway  to  y*^  foot  of  y''  falls       ...... 

for    charges    about  repayringe  the  meeting  liowse,  hanging  the 
bell  &  other  charges   ......... 

for  killinge  5  wolves      ......... 

Totall  129     03     04 

It  is  agreed  and  ordered  that  the  prices  of  corne  for  payment  of  all  these  rates 
shall  be  wheate  at  3s  lOd  per  bg.  pease  at  3s  per  bg.  Indian  at  2s  6d  per  bg.  only 
M'.  Moxon's  rate  we  are  to  agree  with  him. 

The  purchase  of  the  Moxon  property  was  a  wise  move  upon 
general  principles,  but  it  meant  also  that  the  poor  plantation  was 
about  to  suffer  a  great  loss.  The  May  session  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bay  General  Court  of  1651,  which  confirmed  Mary  Parsons's  death- 
sentence,  was  furnished  forthwith  a  matter  of  still  greater  importance 
in  the  eyes  of  the  great  men  of  that  day.  The  waters  of  tribulation 
had  gathered  about  the  great,  clear-visioned  founder  of  Springfield. 
He  had  reached  Boston  from  Springfield  in  compan}^  with  Henry 
Smith,  the  deputy,  and  a  number  of  citizens  ready  to  swear  in  the 


£ 

70 

00 

05 

00 

10 

00 

07 

12 

6 

01 

17 

G 

01 

13 

4 

10 

00 

0 

21 

03 

4 

18 

00 

00 

05 

03 

04 

SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  113 

Parsons  cases.  He  had  not  been  elected  assistant  as  in  former 
years,  because  a  cloud  hung  over  his  head  touching  his  theology. 
Mary  Parsons  lay  in  jail  awaiting  her  execution  ;  her  husband  had 
not  yet  had  his  trial.  Mr.  Pynchon  was  also  oppressed  by  the 
"present  troubles  of  his  family."  Some  of  the  brightest  minds  of 
Boston  were  set  at  work  to  win  Mr.  Pynchon  back  to  an  orthodox 
belief.  It  was  his  hour  of  humiliation,  and  unless  one  can  realize 
the  terrible  weight  of  a  despotic  popular  sentiment,  it  will  be  useless 
to  attempt  an  explanation  of  Mr.  Pynchon's  almost  heroic  retreat 
from  settled  theological  convictions.  The  solemn  court  had  just  con- 
firmed the  sentence  of  death  upon  Mary  Parsons  when  Mr.  Pynchon's 
retraction  was  presented  and  considered.  Here  it  is,  as  set  forth  in 
the  records  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  colony  :  — 

According  to  the  Court's  advice.  I  have  conferred  Avith  the  Rev.  M'-.  Cotton, 
M''  Norrice  and  M^  Norton  about  some  poynts  of  the  greatest  consequence  in  my 
booke,  and  I  hope  have  so  explayned  my  meaninge  to  them  as  to  take  off  the 
worst  construction ;  and  it  hath  pleased  God  to  let  me  see  that  I  have  not  spoken 
m  my  booke  so  fully  of  the  price  and  merrit  of  Christ's  sufferings  as  I  should 
have  done,  for  in  my  booke  I  call  them  but  trialls  of  his  obedience,  yet  intend- 
inge  thereby  to  amply fy  and  exalt  the  mediatoriall  obedyence  of  Christ  as  the  only 
meritorious  price  of  man's  redemption ;  but  now  at  present,  I  am  much  inclined 
to  thinke  that  Ms  sufferings  were  appoynted  by  God  for  a  further  end,  namely, 
as  the  due  punishment  of  our  sins  by  Avay  of  satisfaction  to  divine  justice  for 
man's  redemption. 


This  document  was  signed,  "Yo""  humble  servant,  in  all  duty  full 
respects,  William  Pinchon."  It  will  be  out  of  the  limits  set  for  this 
history  to  follow  the  steps  of  this  fierce  theological  controversy,  ex- 
cept so  far  as  it  affected  the  Springfield  plantation.  Mr.  Pynchon 
had  found  time  to  discuss  somewhat  philosophically  and  intuitively 
the  doctrine  of  atonement,  and  he  had  gradually  come  to  the  con- 
clusion that  Christ's  mediatorial  obedience  was  a  more  important 
element  in  the  agency  that  secured  man's  redemption  than  His  suf- 


114 


SPRING  FIFA.  D,    2  636-1 886. 


ferings.  He  had  written  quite  a  pamphlet  iipou  this  subject,  and  had 
sent  it  to  England  for  publication.  It  was  the  now  famous  "  Meri- 
torious Price  of   our  Redemption."     It  reached  Boston   during  the 


Pyxchon's  Book  burned  ox  Boston  Common. 


session  of  the  October  court,  1050,  and  produced  the  most  profound 
consternation.  Gall  was  as  vital  as  grace  to  the  Boston  divine  ; 
without  any  unnecessary  ceremony  the  book  was  ordered  to  be  burned 
in  the  market-place  after  lecture,  and  the  distinguished  Mr.  Norton^ 
of  Ipswich,  was  subsequently  chosen  to  prepare  and  publish  a  reply 
to  Mr.  Pynchon's  book.  Mr.  Norton  was  just  the  man  for  such  a 
commission.  He  had  been  a  brilliant  student  at  Cambridge,  was  set 
against  Arminianism,   and  was  one  of  the   politico-theologians  who 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  II5 


ruled  New  England.  John  Cotton,  in  his  last  days,  when  much  con- 
cerned about  a  successor  to  his  pulpit,  dreamed  that  he  saw  Mr. 
Norton  coming  into  Boston  on  a  white  horse.  It  fell  out  (so  Cotton 
Mather  claims)  that  Mr.  Norton,  when  he  entered  Boston  to  take 
charge  of  John  Cotton's  church,  did  ride  upon  a  white  horse.  Tliis 
was  tlie  advocate  appealed  to  by  Massachusetts  to  give  battle  to 
AVilliam  Pynchon  over  the  doctrine  of  the  atonement,  and  it  will  be 
found  upon  reading  Norton's  reply  and  Pynchon's  second  book  that 
our  honored  pioneer  was  quite  the  equal  of  the  university  student  as 
a  logician,  and  much  his  superior  in  the  reasoning  that  is  based  upon 
the  inspiration  of  a  catholic  heart  and  a  broad  mind.  We  can  make 
this  claim  without  casting  reflections  upon  the  Boston  scheme  of  gov- 
ernment, which  for  that  age  was  a  protest  against  the  worldly  for- 
malism of  the  English  Church. 

The  cautiously  worded  retraction  which  Mr.  Pynchon  felt  justified 
in  submitting  did  not  quite  reconcile  the  authorities  at  the  Bay.  In 
a  frigid  manner  they  snnply  voted  that  he  was  "  in  a  hopefull  way  to 
give  good  satisfactio^,"  and  allowed  him  to  return  home,  but  bound 
him  over  to  answer  still  further  at  the  next  session.     Henry  Smith 

was    at  once  substituted  as  magistrate    at    Springfield,  however. 

a  bit  of  stern  discipline  which  Mr.  Pynchon  deeply  felt. 

The  merits  of  Mr.  Pynchon's  conviction  as  to  the  real  nature  of  the 
atonement  would  take  a  chapter  to  detail.  He  claimed,  in  short,  that 
Christ's  obedience  was  set  over  against  Adam's  disobedience  ;  that  if 
He  had  died  unwillingly,  the  sacrifice  would  not  have  been  sufficient. 
"  His  divine  nature,"  argues  ]\Ir.  Pynchon,  ''  was  the  altar  upon 
which  He  sacrificed  His  human  nature.  Yet  His  meditorial  death 
was  a  miraculous  death.  The  devil  and  his  agents  had  power  to 
bruise  Him,  and  to  nail  Him  to  the  cross.  But  they  had  no  power  to 
separate  His  Soul  from  His  body.  So  His  death  was  not  passive  but 
active  ;  and,  therefore,  a  part  of  his  meditorial  obedience." 

Those  familiar  with  the  long  course  of  the  discussion  over  the  phi- 
losophy of  the  atonement,  and  the  old  Puritan  tenets,  will  understand 


116  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1S86. 


why  Pynchon's  book  fed  the  flames  on  Boston  Common,  and  why  the 
General  Court  hastened  to  draw  up  a  protest  to  send  back  to  England 
in  a  vessel  that  was  ready  to  weigh  anchor.  At  that  time  the  Pynchon 
book  had  not  been  read,  but  was  condemned  by  its  title-page  alone. 
The  death  of  Governor  Winthrop  had  given  the  more  orthodox  in 
New  England  greater  freedom  to  work  out  to  the  full  their  beliefs. 
Sir  Henry  Vane,  like  Winthrop,  had  been  a  warm  personal  friend  of 
Mr.  Pynchon,  and  he  wrote  the  Massachusetts  authorities  from  Eng- 
land, in  the  spring  of  1652,  advising  them  to  deal  with  Pynchon  in  a 
brotherly  way,  and  to  encourage  him  to  remain  longer  in  the  service 
of  the  churches.     Sir  Henry's  letter  brought  this  reply  :  — 

Honoured  sir.  AYe  received  your  letter  bearing  date  the  l.jth  of  April.  1(;52, 
written  in  the  behalf  of  M""  William  Pincheou.  who  is  one  that  we  did  all  love  and 
respect.  But  his  book  and  the  doctrine  therein  contained  Ave  cannot  but  abhor  as 
pernicious,  and  dangerous;  and  are  much  grieved,  that  such  an  erroneous  pamph- 
let Avas  penned  by  any  New  England  man.  especially  a  Magistrate  amongst  us, 
wherein  he  taketh  upon  him  to  condemn  the  judgment  of  most,  if  hot  all,  both 
ancient  and  modern  divines,  who  were  learned,  orthodox  and  godly  in  a  point  of 
so  great  weight  and  concernment,  as  tend  to  the  salvation  of  God's  elect,  and  the 
contrary,  which  he  maintains  to  the  destruction  of  such  as  follow  it.  Neither 
have  we  ever  heard  of  any  one  godly  orthodox  divine,  that  ever  held  what  he 
hath  written;  nor  do  Ave  knoAv  any  one  of  our  ministers  in  all  the  four  jurisdic- 
tions that  doth  approve  of  the  same;  but  all  do  judge  it  as  erroneous  and  hereti- 
cal. And  to  the  end  that  Ave  might  give  satisfaction  to  all  the  Avorld  of  our  just 
proceedings  against  him.  and  for  the  avoiding  of  any  just  offence  to  be  taken 
against  us,  Ave  caused  M'  John  Norton,  teacher  of  the  church  of  IpsAvich,  to 
answer  his  book  fully.  Avhich,  if  it  be  printed,  we  hope  it  Avill  give  yourself  and 
all  indifferent  men  full  satisfaction. 

M'.  Pincheou  might  have  kept  his  judgment  to  himself,  as  it  seems  he  did 
above  thirty  years,  most  of  Avliich  time  he  hath  lived  amongst  us  Avith  honour, 
much  respect,  and  love.  But  Avhen  God  left  him  to  himself  in  the  publishing,  and 
spreading  of  his  erroneous  book  here  amongst  us,  to  the  endangering  of  the  faith 
of  such  as  might  come  to  read  them  (as  the  like  effects  have  followed  the  reading 
of  other  erroneous  books  brought  over  into  these  parts).  Ave  held  it  our  duty,  and 
believed  Ave  were  called  of  God,  to  proceed  against  him  accordingly.  And  this  we 


THE 

MERITORIOUS  PRICE 

O  F 

Our  Redemption,    luftification ,  c^r. 

Cleermg  it  fromfome  common  Errors ; 

And  proving , 

ri.  That  Cbriftdid  notfufferforus  thofe  unutterable  torments  of 
\\  Gods  wrath,  that  commonly  are  called  Hell-torments,  co  r&- 
^     I.N     deem  our  follies  from  them. 

a.  That  Chrift  did  not  bear  our  fins  by  Gods  imputation,    and 
therefore  he  did  not  bear  the  curfc  of  the  Law  forthem. 

3,  That  Chrift  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curfc  of  the  Law  (not 
fuffcring  the  faid  cutfe  for  us,  but^  by  a  fatisfadory  price  of 
onemcnt;  t/Z-c.  by  paying  or  performing  unto  his  Father  that 

PartlL^     invaluable  precious  thing  of  hi*  Mediatorial!  obcdience,whcrof 
his  Mediatorial!  Sacrifice  of  attoncment  was  the  mafter.piecc. 

4.  A  finncrs  righteoufnefic  or  juftification  is  explained ,  and  clec- 
rcd  from  fome  common  Errors* 

By  WiliUm  Pimhift,  Gentleman,  in  New  England, 


The  Mediator  faith  thus  Vo  his  Father  in  Pfal  40.8^  10.  » 

I  delight  to  do  thy  rciU  0  my  God,yea  ihy  Latcii  vitbin  my  hnrt ;    (vi^.)  I  delight  to  do 

thy  will,  or  Law,  as  a  Mediator. 
I  have  not  hid  tby  righteoufneffeivitbin  my  heart,  T  have  declared  thy  faithfnlnejfc  ,  and 
thy  fatvatioji:  Namely,!  have  not  bid  thj^  righreoufn«fl'e,  or  thy  way  of  makin''-  iinncrj 
ri-^htcous,  but  have  declared  it  by  the  perfornvwicc  of  my  Mediaforiall  Sacrtfice  of  at- 
tonemenr,  as  the  procuring  caufc  of  tby  attonement,  to  tbc  great  Con<»rcgaiiou  f^r  their 
everli{\ing  rigbtecufnefle. 


L   0  N  T>  0  N 


Pcintcd  by  ^.  .SW.  iox  Cjeorge  U^ictivgcon,  and  ■famesMoxon,  aad'arc  to  be  fold  at 
the  bine  Acchoi  in  Cora-hill  neer  the  Royall  Exchange.    16  So. 


Title-page,  Pvxchon  Book. 


118  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

can  further  say,  and  that  truly,  that  we  used  all  lawful  Christian  means,  with  as 
much  tenderness,  respect,  and  love,  as  he  could  expect,  which  we  think  he  him- 
self will  acknowledge.  For  Ave  desired  divers  of  our  elders  such  as  he  himself 
liked,  to  confer  with  him  privately,  lovingly  and  meekly,  to  see  if  they  could  pre- 
vail with  him  by  arguments  from  the  scriptures,  which  accordingly  was  done ; 
and  he  was  then  thereby  so  far  convinced  that  he  seemed  to  yield  for  substance 
the  case  in  controversy  signed  Avith  his  own  hand.  And  for  the  better  confirm- 
ing of  him  in  the  truth  of  God,  M"".  Norton  left  Avith  him  a  copy  of  the  book  he 
Avrit  in  answer  to  him ;  and  the  Court  gave  him  divers  months  to  consider  both  of 
the  book,  and  what  had  been  spoken  unto  him  by  the  elders.  But  in  tlie  interim 
(as  it  is  reported)  he  received  letters  from  England,  Avhich  encouraged  him  in 
his  errors,  to  the  great  grief  of  us  all,  and  of  divers  others  of  the  people  of  God 
amongst  us.  We  therefore  leave  the  author,  together  Avith  the  fautors  and 
maintainers  of  such  opinions  to  the  great  Judge  of  all  the  earth,  A^^ho  judgeth 
righteously  and  is  no  respector  of  persons.  Touching  tliat  a\  hich  your  honoured 
self  doth  adAise  us  unto,  viz.  not  to  censure  any  persons  for  matters  of  a  relig- 
ious nature  or  concernment,  we  desire  to  follow  any  good  adA'ice  from  you,  or 
any  of  the  people  of  God.  according  to  the  rule  of  God's  Avord.  Yet  Ave  conceive, 
Avith  subemission  still  to  better  light,  that  Ave  have  not  acted  in  M''.  Pincheon's 
case  either  for  substance  or  circumstance,  as  far  as  Ave  can  discern,  otherAvise 
tlian  according  unto  rule,  and  as  Ave  believe  in  conscience  to  God's  command,  Ave 
Avere  bound  to  do.  All  Avhich  Ave  hope  will  so  far  satisfy  you  as  that  Ave  shall 
not  need  to  make  any  further  defence  touching  this  subject.  The  God  of  peace 
and  truth  lead  you  into  all  faith,  and  guide  your  heart  aright  in  these  dangerous 
and  apostatising  times,  Avherein  many  are  fallen  from  the  faith,  giving  heed  to 
errours,  and  make  you  an  instrument  (in  the  place  God  hath  called  you  unto)  of 
his  praise,  to  stand  for  his  truth  against  all  opposers  thereof,  Avliich  Avill  bring 
you  peace  and  comfort  in  the  saddest  hours,  Avhich  are  the  prayers  of.  Sir, 

Your  unworthy  servants, 
20  October,  1(;52,  John  Endicott,  Gov'r 

Past  by  the  Council.  Tho  Dudley  Dep'ty 

Rich.  Bellingliam 
Increas  NoAvell 
Simon  Bradstreet 
Wm  Hibbins 
Sam.  Simonds 
Robt  Bridges 
John  Glover 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  119 


After  Mr.  Pyuchon  had  signed  his  retraction,  and  the  General 
Court  had  not  considered  it  full  enough  to  warrant  their  continuing 
him  in  his  position  as  magistrate  at  Springfield,  Pynchon  returned 
home  with  his  son-in-law,  Henry  Smith.  No  one  can  say  why  Smith 
should  accept  a  mark  of  favor  which  was  a  rebuke  to  his  father-in- 
law,  and  no  one  can  really  say  that  he  did.  For  two  years  after  the 
burning  of  Mr.  Pynchon's  book  the  magistracy  book  is  blank.  If 
Mr.  Smith  acted  as  local  judge,  he  left  no  record  of  it.  As  Pynchon 
rode  for  three  or  more  days  westward,  what  must  have  been  his 
thought?  —  loss  of  public  confidence,  an  object  of  hatred  by  the 
General  Court,  relieved  of  office,  disgraced,  and  set  upon  by  busy 
tongues  I 

The  whole  Commonwealth  was  shaken  with  an  uneasy,  unsettled 
feeling.  Witchcraft  and  heresy  seemed,  in  the  eyes  of  the  Boston 
divines,  to  be  walking  hand  in  hand.  Springfield  rested  under  a  cloud, 
and  the  names  of  William  Pynchon  and  Hugh  and  Mary  Parsons  were 
in  the  minds  of  the  stern  soldiers  of  the  gospel  when  they  recorded 
the  following  solemn  decree:  "This  Court,  takeinge  into  cousid- 
eracon  how  farre  Sathan  pvayles  amongst  us  in  respect  of  witchcraft, 
as  also  by  drawing  away  some  from  the  truth  to  the  pfession  &  prac- 
tise of  straung  opinions,  &  also  consideringe  the  state  &  condition 
of  England,  Ireland  &  Scotland,  &  the  great  thinges  now  in  hand 
there,  conceive  it  necessary  that  there  be  a  day  of  humiliation 
throughout  o"^  jurisdiction  in  all  the  churches." 

Mr.  Pynchon's  feelings  can  best  be  inferred  from  his  acts.  He 
did  not  appear  at  the  October  term,  according  to  the  direction  of  the 
court.  Mr.  Smith  attended  the  court,  but  after  remaining  a  few 
days  he  was  granted  special  leave  to  return.  When  it  became  known 
that  Mr.  Pynchon  was  not  to  be  present  during  the  session,  the 
court  voted  that  it  "is  willinge,  that  all  patience  be  exercised  tow- 
ards M""  Wm  Pinchon,  that,  if  it  be  possible,  he  may  be  reduced  into 
the  way  of  truth,  &  that  he  might  renounce  the  errours  &  haeresies 
published  in  his  booke  ;    &  for  that  end  doe  give  him  time  to  the 


120  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


next  General  Courte  in  ^lay  more  thoroughly  to  consider  of  the  s*^ 
errors  &  haeresies  in  his  s^'  booke,  &  well  to  weigh  the  judicious 
answer  of  M"".  John  Norton  thereto."  The  penalty  of  non-appear- 
ance was  £100. 

The  distress  at  Springfield  over  the  strange  tilings  was  great.  Mr. 
Pynchon  had  determined  to  go  back  to  England  and  stay  there.  If 
his  retraction  was  not  sufficient,  then  he  could  never  meet  the  demands 
of  the  Bay  authorities. 

But  who  in  Springfield  were  to  go  with  him,  and  who  to  stay? 
Young  John  Pynchon  decided  to  remain,  as  his  wife  naturally  ob- 
jected leaving  her  family  in  Connecticut.  But  Elizur  Holyoke  and 
his  wife  .Alary  had  no  such  ties.  Would  they  go  with  her  father? 
And  Henry  Smith  and  his  wife,  —  what  would  they  do?  Here  was 
the  parting  of  the  ways,  and  on  the  decision  hung  the  fate  of  the 
western  Massachusetts  of  that  generation.  The  young  men  saved 
Springfield.  John  Pynchon  and  p:hzur  Holyoke  stood  by  the  planta- 
tion, but  Henry  Smith  accompanied  the  retiring  party.  Rev.  Mr. 
Moxon.  too,  gave  up  his  parsonage,  his  new  church,  and  the  hopes 
that  had  gathered  around  them,  and  joined  Mr.  Pynchon's  party. 
"  William  Pynchon  suffered  the  usual  fate  of  men  who  are  ahead  of 
their  age,  and  if  he  had  elected  to  remain  in  Massachusetts  he  would 
have  been  banished,  without  doubt,  as  Roger  Williams  had  been  a 
short  time  before.  His  career  in  New  p:ngland  was  personally  a 
trying  one,  most  of  the  time  antagonizing  the  tendencies  of  govern- 
ment here.  We  in  our  day  can  recognize  the  broad  spirit  that  moved 
him,  and,  at  the  same  time,  we  can  understand  the  motives  of  State 
that  dominated  the  earnest  men  of  the  P^ay.  They  had  fled  from  a 
corrupt  civilization  to  the  forest,  and  their  loss  of  physical  comfort 
and  the  continued  association  with  pioneer  perils  was  the  price  they 
were  willing  to  pay  for  the  privilege  of  reading  and  preaching  the  word 
of  God.  The  Roger  AYilliamses  and  the  William  Pynchons  are  sure 
to  get  entangled  in  the  meshes  of  such  a  scheme.  Roger  Wilhams 
had   watched    the    Pynchon    controversy,   and     had    written    to    an 


The  Pyxchon  'i  ablkt  at  Wkittle,  J^xcland. 


122  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

acquaintance   deploring   tlie   lack   of    liberality   on  the    part  of    the 
province  toward  the  Springfield  man. 

William  P3^nchon,  Henr}'  Smith,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Moxon  were  at 
Hartford  in  July,  1652,  on  their  way  to  England;  and  in  May, 
1653,  Pynchon  met,  at  London,  his  brother  from  Bedfordshire^  who 
had  gone  up  to  greet  him.  Mr.  Pynchon  settled  at  Wraisbury,  on 
the  Thames.  He  might  have  gone  to  Writtle,  where  now  exists  an 
elegant  marble  memorial  of  the  Pynchon  family  ;  but  he  preferred  to 
settle  where  he  could  see  from  his  window  ]Magna  Charta  island  and 
Windsor  castle.  There  is  a  tradition  in  the  Pynchon  family  that  Mr. 
Moxon  was  silenced  upon  his  return  to  England,  and  was  reduced  to 
the  position  of  servant  to  a  tradesman.  It  is  not  likely,  however, 
that  ]Mr.  Pynchon  would  have  permitted  his  old  friend  to  suffer  in 
this  way.  It  has  been  understood  by  the  American  branch  of  the 
Pynchons  that  William  Pynchon  bought  of  the  government,  upon  his 
return  to  England,  some  lands,  valued  at  £1,100  sterling,  Avhich  he 
lost  at  the  Restoration.  He  certainly  lived  at  Wraisbury,  upon  an 
estate  of  the  Pynchons. 

Bulstrode  Whitelocke,  the  great  Parliamentary  lawyer  of  Crom- 
well's time,  was  a  relative  of  Pj-nchon  through  the  Empsons  ;  and 
when  the  returning  Puritan  reached  Wraisbury  he  was  near  his  Bul- 
strode relatives. 

Mr.  Pynchon's  second  wife  died  October  10,  1657.  People  from 
many  towns  about  Wraisbury  attended  the  funeral.  Pynchon's 
daughter,  Mary  Holyoke,  had  died  that  year,  and  he  writes  feelingly  : 
"  I  am  the  more  solitary  as  Son  Smith  is  of  a  reserved  melancholy 
disposition,  and  my  daughter  is  crazy." 

William  Pynchon  founded  Roxbury,  the  mother  of  fourteen  New 
England  towns  ;  he  founded  Springfield,  the  mother  of  thirteen  New 
England  towns  and  god-mother  of  quite  as  many  more.  Roxbury 
has  named  a  street  after  him  ;  so  has  Springfield.  Beyond  this, 
William  P^^nchon  has  no  public  memorial  in  this  countrv. 


chapti:r  VIII. 

1653-1675. 

Springfield  in  the  Hands  of  Young  Men. -The  Discipline  more  rigid.- Apportionments 
of°  Land.— Power  of  the  Selectmen.  -  Quabaug.  — The  Vacant  Pulpit.  — Various 
Candidates.  —  Rev.  Mr.  Glover  settled.  —  How  the  Meeting-House  was  "  dignified."  — 
Hampshire  County.  — Business  of  the  County  Courts.  — Numerous  Ofifences  against 
Private  Morals.  -  The  Cause.  —  Tything-Men.  —  Death  of  Mary  Holyoke.  —  Death  of 
William  Pynchon  in  England.  —  Tbfe  Pynchon  Fort  on  Main  Street. 

The  town  of  Springfield  had  tonched  its  low-water  mark  with  the 
departure  of  its  founder,  it's  minister,  and  its  scribe.  One  needs  no 
evidence  of  tradition  to  be  convinced  that  the  young  men  left  to  take 
up  the  burdens  and  responsibilities  of  the  plantation  thought  seri- 
ously of  abandoning  the  work  and  going  down  the  river.  Nothing 
but  the  most  heroic  coiu-age  and  faith  could  have  induced  the  depleted 
community  to  hold  fast  to  the  lands  already  cleared.  They  were 
poor,  unprotected  from  the  dangers  of  the  great  wilderness  west  and 
north,  and  separated  /rom  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Bay  l)y  a  100-mile 
forest,  and  were  unable  for  a  long  time  to  secure  a  minister. 

The  man  of  the  hour  was  John  Pynchon.  He  was  methodical, 
naturally  given  to  the  details  of  business  and  government,  and  was  a 
wiser  man  than  his  father  in  avoiding  annoying  compUcations.  He  had 
a  technical  mind,  and  was  more  of  an  executive  officer,  but  less  of  a 
thinker.  He  wrote  a  better  hand,  and  was  a  natural  student ;  but  he 
could  not  take  in  with  his  eye,  as  could  William  Pynchon,  the  sweep 
of  a  new  government,  and  determine  the  principles  that  make  for 
permanence  in  the  State.  John  Pynchon  was  not  the  man  to  found 
a  town,  and  WiUiam  Pynchon  was  not  the  man  to  build  one  up. 

John  Pynchon  and  his  young  associates,  Elizur  Holyoke  and  Sam- 


124  ,  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


uel  Chapiu,  took  the  oath  as  magistrates,  Nov.  22,  1652.  It  was 
the  turning-point  in  everything  that  makes  Springfield  a  stronghold 
of  regular  government  in  local  affairs.  John  Pynchon  was  only 
thirty-one  years  of  age.  The  business  of  administration  was  more 
closely  attended  to;  the  ''presenter,"  or  grand  juryman,  was  in- 
structed to  seek  out  offences  against  the  laws  of  the  colony.  The 
regular  court  days  came  in  March  and  September,  and  while  private  in- 
terests continued  to  figure  in  court  as  before,  public  causes  multiplied. 
Richard  Sikes  is  fined  for  smoking  on  a  hay-cock  ;  Goody  Griffith 
is  punished  for  carrying  fire  uncovered  in  the  streets,  and  in  a  multi- 
tude of  ways  it  became  evident  that  a  strong  governing  hand  had 
taken  hold  of  the  helm. 

When  Mr.  Smith  sailed  for  England  late  in  the  autumn  of  1652 
he  left  his  wife  here,  probably  on  account  of  sickness  and  death  in 
his  family  ;  the  General  Court  did  not  think  best  to  confirm  his  elec- 
tion as  captain  of  the  Springfield  trainband,  "  untill  he  shall  return 
from  England."  But  the  elections  of  John  Pynchon  as  lieutenant 
and  of  Elizur  Holyoke  as  ensign  were  at  once  approved.  And  it 
might  be  here  remarked  that  every  officer,  from  hog-reeve  to  magis- 
trate, was  first  elected  by  the  people,  the  General  Court  only  using 
its  prerogative  of  ratification. 

Mr.  Pynchon  secured  from  the  General  Court  in  1652  the  loan  of  a 
"  great  gun"  for  the  protection  of  the  town.  It  was  ordered  from 
Boston  that  "  Samuel  Chapin  be  joyned  with  M^  Pinchon  &  M^  Holy- 
oke for  the  dividinge  of  the  townes."  The  division  referred  to  was 
at  "  Noatucke  "  or  Northampton  ;  the  commission  was  duly  performed, 
and  approved  by  the  Bay  authorities  in  1654,  and  the  year  following 
the  Northampton  commissioners  w^ere  ordered  to  take  the  oath  before 
the  Springfield  commissioners.  The  latter  court  was  also  sometimes 
specially  called  upon  to  try  cases  in  the  infant  plantation,  as  appears 
from  the  vote  passed  in  May,  1656,  that  John  Pynchon  and  Elizur 
Holyoke  shall  try  Robert  Bartlett,  charged  with  committing  "  a  great 
misdemeanor  in  attemptinge  to  force  the  s'^  Smith's  wife." 


SPBTXG  FIELD,    1636-1SS6.  125 


In  1653  the  town  appropriated  a  tract  of  land  on  Chicopee  plain 
to  snpport  a  schoolmaster.  The  custom  of  subsidizing  the  innkeeper 
has  already  been  spoken  of.  This  was  a  custom  brought  from  Eng- 
land. At  a  later  date  Samuel  Ely  was  released  from  duty  on  train- 
ing days  if  he  would  agree  to  keep  an  ordinary. 

The  young  blood  upon  the  judge's  bench  began  to  produce  results. 
Daniel,  a  Scotch  servant,  gets  twenty  lashes  for  profaning  the  Sab- 
bath ;  Joane  3Iiller  is  summoned  to  answer  the  charge  of  calling  her 
husband  a  ^'  foole,  toad,  vermine,  and  threateninge  him  ;  "  Samuel  p:iy 
is  fined  for  selling  cider  to  the  Indians  ;  Aquossowump,  an  Indian,  is 
flogged  for  theft ;  and  Goodwife  Hunter  is  gagged  and  made  to  stand 
half  an  hour  in  the  stocks  for  sundry  ''  exorbitancys  of  y"  toung." 

The  town-meeting  showed  a  like  infusion  of  new  life.  Its  reduced 
numbers  were  not  followed  by  reduced  financial  burdens  in  town 
expenses.  Money  for  .Aloxon's  real  estate  was  provided  for,  which 
ran  the  tax-rate  to  £107  12s.  6d.  in  1653.  They  paid  that  year  £35 
on  the  Moxon  purchase,  £50  for  Rev.  Mr.  Horsford,  with  the  hope 
that  he  would  remain  with  them,  and  l.s.  M.  for  an  hour-glass,  which 
latter  ensured  them  full  measure  of  preaching  on  the  Sabbath. 

In  1653  John  Pynchou  was  dropped  from  the  board  of  townsmen, 
probably  because  he  was  a  magistrate  and  recorder  of  deeds.  The 
new  board  of  selectmen  were  George  Colton,  Robert  Ashley,  Thomas 
Cooper,  Benjamin  Cooley,  and  Thomas  Stebbins.  This  was  quite  a 
change,  and  a  change,  too,  in  the  direction  of  the  small  landholders. 
The  importance  of  the  selectmen  was  lessened  by  the  vote  of  October, 
1664.  In  defining  the  powers  of  the  new  board  it  is  expressly  said 
that  "  giving  out  of  y^  land  belongs  to  y^  towne."  On  the  previous 
May  John  Pynchon's  lot  on  Long  Hill  had  been  increased  by  the 
town,  upon  the  condition  that  he  would  buy  a  fiock  of  forty  sheep, 
and  sell  them  as  he  might  to  the  inhabitants.  In  1666  Mr.  Pynchon 
proposed  to  spend  £200  in  building  a  new  mill,  and  a  stormy  town- 
meeting  took  place  on  account  of  a  proposition  to  refund  this  money. 
The  proposition  was  voted  down.     A  private  subscription  was  then 


1^6  SPRINGFIELD,    163  6 -188  6. 


taken  up,  and  Mr.  Pynchon  concluded  to  go  ahead.  Subsequently 
the  town  voted  Pynchon  one-twelfth  part  of  a  bushel  for  all  the  grain 
ground  in  the  new  mill.  A  few  days  later  he  was  voted  some  land, 
if  he  would  also  build  a  saw-mill.  Pynchon's  slaves,  ''Harry"  and 
"  Roco,"  worked  on  the  first  mill  put  up  at  Suffield  in  1672. 

From  the  mass  of  orders  in  town-meetings,  as  to  small  matters, 
the  following  is  selected  as  a  sample  :  — 

Ordered  that  the  ye  gate  at  the  higher  wharfe  shall  be  set  in  repaire  a^t  ^e 
spring  of  ye  yeare  &  yt  ye  gd  g^t^  shall  be  kept  in  repaire  and  well  hung  fro  yeare 
to  yeare  &  after  fences  be  made  up  in  ye  spring  yearely  the  s^  gate  shall  be 
always  kept  shut  till  all  ye  fields  about  it  be  broken  up.  And  if  an3^ person  shall 
throw  open  or  leave  open  the  s'l  gate  fro  the  tyme  of  making  up  fences  in-  ye 
spring  till  liberty  of  laying  ye  fields  commons  he  shall  forfeit  a  fine  of  5s. 

About  1662  the  old  road  along  the  brow  of  the  hill  (Maple  street), 
through  the  pines  to  the  dingle,  was  laid  out,  and  on  it  the  house  of 
correction  was  buHt.  It  was  found  convenient,  also,  to  build  a  pound 
on  the  west  side,  at  the  "hay  place,"  which  was  probably  not  far 
from  the  old  upper  ferry,  opposite  Cypress  street. 

The  board  of  townsmen  of  1654  consisted  of  Thomas  Cooper, 
George  Colton,  Robert  Ashley,  Henry  Burt,  and  Benjamin  Cooley. 
The  following  year.  Cooper,  Ashley,  and  Cooley  were  reelected,  and 
Miles  Morgan  and  John  Dumbleton  chosen  in  the  place  of  Colton  and 
Burt.  The  three  members  reelected  refused  to  serve,  and  they  were 
fined  20s.  apiece,  while  George  Colton  and  Thomas  and  John  Steb- 
bins  were  chosen  to  fill  their  places.  Lieutenant  Cooper  was  evidently 
a  brisk,  outspoken  man,  which  sometimes  made  it  diflScult  to  get  on 
with  him.  Some  years  later  he  was  appointed  by  the  County  Court 
to  aid  in  laying  out  a  highway,  but  the  judges  finally  substituted 
another  man  on  account  of  his  refusal  to  serve 

The  new  board  of  townsmen,  with  John  Pynchon  and  Samuel 
Chapin,  were  constituted  a  conunission  to  allot  the  common  lands. 
The  new  plan  was  followed  for  several  years,  but  we  find  that  in  1663 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  127 


the  po\Yer  to  grant  allotments  of  land  was  again  taken  from  the  select- 
men and  given  to  Captain  Pynchon,  Ensign  Cooper,  Benjamin  Cooley, 
George  Colton,  Rowland  Thomas,  Miles  Morgan,  and  Eliznr  Holyoke, 
'^  for  the  present."     A  brisk  apportionment  of  lands  foUowed. 

We  cannot  but  think  that  behind  these  sliort  orders,  changing  the 
privilege  of  dividing  and  assigning  lands  from  the  town-meeting  to 
the  selectmen,  then  back  to  the  town-meeting,  then  to  the  selectmen 
aided  by  a  committee,  and  finally  to  a  special  land  board,  is  an  inter- 
esting chapter  of  our  annals  that  is  lost  beyond  all  hope  of  recovery. 
Certain  it  is  that,  for  some  reason,  a  rebellious  spirit  rested  upon  the 
local  waters.  Men  sometimes  absented  themselves  wilfully  from  the 
town-meeting.  In  April,  1665,  the  following  persons  were  fined  for 
this  offence  :  Henry  Chapin,  Griffith  Jones,  Edward  Foster,  William 
Branch,  Deacon  Chapin,  Robert  Ashley,  Thomas  Mirrick,  Anthony 
Dorchester,  Jonathan  Burt,  William  Brookes,  Joseph  Crowfoote, 
John  Leonard,  Ensign  Cooper,  Benjamin  Mun,  John  Clarke,  and 
Nathaniel  Burt. 

It  was  in  1655  that  the  base  of  assessment  of  taxes  was  changed 
from  the  number  of  acres  to  the  value  of  the  lands.  Stock  was,  as 
before,  included  in  the  ratable  property.  Men  without  any  property 
were  taxed  56' .  per  annum  for  the  support  of  the  ministry. 

The  town-organizing  genius  of  John  Pynchon  showed  itself  in 
January,  1656,  when  he  and  others  received  power  to  assign  lands  at 
Woronoco  (Westfield)  to  settlers.  The  final  apportionment  was  not 
made,  however,  until  1664.  Pynchon  was  authorized,  with  others,  to 
apportion  land  at  Squakheag  (Northfield)  for  a  plantation,  in  1672. 

The  struggling  conununity  at  Quabaug  had  all  along  been  under 
the  fostering  care  of  Springfield.  As  early  as  1655  Eliznr  Holyoke 
had  been  a  member  of  a  legislative  committee  to  lay  out  four  thous- 
and acres  for  some  Indians  near  Quabaug  ;  and,  ten  years  later,  the 
plantation  applied  to  Springfield  to  secure  for  them  the  Indian  title  to 
the  lands  they  occupied.  Lieut.  Thomas  Cooper  performed  that  service, 
Eliznr  Holyoke  and  Samuel  and  Japhet  Chapin  witnessing  the  deed. 


128  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


In  1667  John  Pynchon  beaded  a  provisional  committee,  appointed  at 
the  Bay,  to  lay  out  lands,  admit  inhabitants,  and  complete  the  town 
organization  at  Quabaug.  Thus  it  happens  that  the  first  records  of 
Brookfield  are  in  Major  Pynchon's  handwriting.  In  1673  Pynchon 
refused  absolutely  to  serve  on  the  provisional  committee,  and  Qua- 
baug was  at  once  incorporated  as  a  town,  under  the  name  of  Brook- 
field. 

John  Pynchon  was  on  the  commission  appointed  in  1664  to  receive 
the  surrender  of  New  Amsterdam  (New  York)  from  the  Dutch.  It 
is  believed,  however,  that  he  only  went  part  way  upon  his  journey 
when  news  reached  him  that  the  surrender  had  been  made.  Pynchou's 
church,  judicial,  military,  and  political  duties  pressed  heavily  upon 
him,  but  his  business-like  habits  enabled  him  to  carry  a  load  which 
might  have  overcome  a  stronger  man. 

Rev.  Mr.  Horsford  was  a  disappointment,  and  when  Rev.  Mr. 
Thomson  came  to  Springfield  to  preach  as  a  candidate,  he  was  given 
(November,  1655)  the  ''  towne  house  "  or  parsonage,  situated  between 
the  lot  of  Thomas  Cooper  and  Deacon  Chapin,  Thomson  to  keep  the 
house  in  repair.  For  some  reason  the  new  minister  did  not  occupy 
it,  and  the  town  had  to  undertake  repairs  at  its  own  expense. 

In  March,  1656,  Mr.  Thomson  had  "  deserted  this  Plantation,"  and 
Deacon  Wright  was  chosen  to  supply  the  pulpit.  In  February  follow- 
ing INIr.  Holyoke  and  Henry  Burt  were  called  upon  to  carry  on  the 
public  services.  Deacon  Chapin  being  substitute.  In  1657  services 
were  conducted  by  Pynchon,  Holyoke,  Chapm,  and  Burt,  and  My. 
Pynchon  was  even  authorized  to  read  his  '^  owue  meditations." 
Wealth  did  much  for  John  Pynchon,  to  be  sure  ;  it  may  have  put  him 
on  the  board  of  selectmen,  or  secured  his  election  as  an  associate  in 
the  Great  and  General  Court ;  nay,  it  may  have  contributed  toward 
placing  him  upon  the  bench  ;  nothing,  however,  but  his  gifts  of  mind 
and  heart  could  have  induced  the  Springfield  towu-meeting  to  open 
the  pulpit  to  his  "  owne  meditations,"  with  Deacons  Chapin,  Burt, 
and  Wright  sitting  in  the  pews. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  129 


It  was  Dot  until  February,  1659,  that  the  struggling  inhabitants 
renewed  the  hope  of  settling  a  minister ;  but  he,  Mr.  Hooker,  son  of 
the  famous  Thomas  Hooker,  of  Connecticut,  who  had  been  drawn 
into  the  controversy  with  William  Pynchon,  remained  a  few  months 
only.  There  seemed  to  be  some  fatality  about  securing  a  minister  ; 
but  after  a  vacancy  of  over  nine  years,  the  right  man  appeared.  Nearly 
two  years  after  Mr.  Hooker's  candidacy,  a  young  minister  named 
Pelatiah  Grover  preached  here,  and  in  September  of  the  year  follow- 
ing, 1661,  he  was  settled  over  the  Springfield  church.  He  was  some- 
what of  a  student,  and  was  well  calculated  to  take  up  the  line  of 
theology  abroad  in  the  valley.  He  was  a  worthy  instrument  in  the 
hand  of  Providence  for  the  advancement  of  the  community.  The 
dark  interim  had  closed,  and  the  people  must  have  felt  the  old  con- 
fidence return  with  the  renewal  of  the  stated  means  of  grace.  They 
were  not  able  to  give  Mr.  Glover  a  liberal  support  in  money,  but  they 
made  free  to  supply  him  with  valuable  landed  property.  Here  is  the 
list  of  lots  made  over  to  him,  and  it  is  incidentally  interesting  as  in- 
dicating the  various  sections  subject  to  allotments.  The  town  com- 
mittee having  the  matter  in  charge  did  not  record  their  deeds  until 
the  spring  of  1665,  for  the  following  parcels  of  land  :  — 

(1.)  House-lot,  7  acres  from  Main  street  to  river,  14  rods  wide. 

(2.)  Wet  meadow,  4  acres,  corresponding  to  house  lot  on  East  side   of  Main 

Street. 

(3.)  Wood-lot,  7  acres,  abutting  the  Wet  meadow  to  the  East. 

(4.)  Meadow,  7  acres,  AVest  side  of  Connecticut  river  opposite  home  lot. 

(5.)  Meadow,  5  acres,  second  division,  80  rods  West  of  river. 

(6.)  Lot  in  3d  division.  West  of  river,  16  acres. 

(7.)  Lot  on  the  plaine  above  the  End  brook,  16  acres. 

(8.)  Meadow,  in  the  "  house  meadow,"  9  acres. 

(9.)  Meadow  in  Indian  fields  on  Agawam  river,  4  acres. 

(10.)  Lot  on  East  Branch  of  Mill  river,  2  acres. 

Year  after  year  the  selectmen  and  deacons,  or  some  committee 
cliosen   in    town-meeting,    assigned    the    pews    or    "  dignified "    the 


130  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

meeting-bouse,  aud  their  arbitrary  duties  often  caused  heart-burnings 
quite  as  intense  as  tliose  resulting  from  assignments  of  hmd,  since 
the  rule  followed  was  woiidl}^  condition  and  social  importance.  In 
the  winter  of  1663  Deacon  Chapin  and  the  selectmen,  consisting  of 
Thomas  Cooper,  Robert  Ashley,  John  P3nichon,  Benjamin  Cooley, 
and  Samuel  Marshfield,  distributed  the  seats  as  follows,  no  mention 
being  made  of  Mr.  Pynchon,  as  he  probably  owned  a  seat :  — 


Goodwife  Chapiu  is  to  sitt  in  the  seate  alonge  with  M*"*.  Glover  and  M'«. 
Hollyocke. 

Tn  ve  fiT-ct    ootr.  ^    Kobert  Ashly;    Benja.  Coolv ;   Tho:   Cooper;   Geors^e  Colton, 
111}    ni.st..eatc^        &  Eowld  Stebbens  : 

In  ye   2d    seate  j     Xatlianell  Ely ;  Rich  Sikes,  Tho  Mirick,  &  WiUni  Warriner : 

-r        e    .,  1          ^     f     Serja  Stebbins  ;  Serja  ;   Morsran  :  Benj  Munn  :  John  Leonord  ; 
>      -^^i    ^t^a^«  (^        Antli.  Dorchester ;  Saml  Marshfeild  : 

In  v^  4th   ^e-ite  '    ^^'^J^  Parsons ;  Jonatli  Burt ;   Wra  Brancli :   Eeice  Bedotha ; 
'       (,        Jo  Dumbleton  ;  RoA\  Id  Thomas  : 

Tn  vf  ^Hi   ^ooto  *    John  Matthews ;  Jo  Clarke ;    John   Lamb :    Lawr  Bliss ;   Tho 
in  y    otn  seate  ^^        ^j. ^^^^  .  ^^^^  ^^^^_ . 

T,i  -..e  rtK  coo+o  ^    John  Lombard :  Griffith  .Toanes ;   X.    Pritcliard  :   Rich  Exsell; 
in  >     btii  seate  .^^        r^.^^  ^^^^^  .  ^^^^  ^^^_ . 

In  v«  "th    ^e- te  i    Jonath  Taylor ;  Tho:  Bancroft;  Jolm  Scot;  Xath  Burt;  John 
(         Stewart ;  Wm  Brooks  : 

Tv,  ,.e  c+u   -.^  ^-^  i    Jer    Horton;     Jo    Bacf;    Jo  Rilev :     Lvman    Beamon:    Abell 
in  yt  bth  seate  nr  •   w  .  . 

i        Wriglit : 

In  ye  9th  seate  j     Joh  Henryson  ;  Saml  Terry  ;  Obadi  Miller ;  Hugh  Dudley  : 

In  ye  10th  seate  '    '^^  Crowf oote  ;   Edwr  ffoster ;    Charls  ffery  ;  James  Osborne  ; 
^  \        Wm  Hunter ;  Peter  Swinck  : 

In  ye  forseate  of  y^  gallerj' : 

In  ye  upper  part  above  ye  Pillars  on  ye  North  side  —  Henry  Chapin  ;  John  Bliss  ; 
Jo  Keef  e : 

In  ye  upp  pf  alcove  ye  Pillars  on  ye  South  side  —  ffraunces  Pepper ;  James 
Warrinar ;  Saml  Bliss  : 

Below  ye  Pillars  on  ye  North  side  —  Saml  Holyoke ;  David  Ashly;  Jonath 
Ashly;  Japth  Chapin;  Tim:  Cooper;  Isack  Colton;  Obadi  Cooly  : 

On  ye  South  side  below  ye  Pillars  —  Tho  Cooper  Jun  ;  Jos  Warrinar;  John 
Leonord  ;  Jolm  Harmon  ;  Saml  Harmon ;  Increase  Sikes  ;  John  Dorchester  : 

In  ye  seate  in  ye  Gallery  w*^  faces  agt  ye  minister,  — Ephraiin  Colton ;  Eliakim 
Cooly  ;  Jonath  ]Morgan  :  Saml  Stebbins  ;  James  Dorchester  : 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6.  131 


111  y*^  Backer  seate  of  y^  Gallery  on  y  North  side  at  ye  upp  end  of  it  —  James 
Taylor ;  John  Horton  ;  Hugh  Mackey  ;  Wm  Morgan  : 

In  y^^  South  side  at  y^  upp  end  of  y^  Backer  seate  —  Jonath  Ball ;  Sanil  Ball ; 
Jos.  Harmon  ;  Nathanell  Sikes  ;  Tho:  Thomson  : 

In  ye  Backer  Seate  (a  break)  the  Pillars  on  the  North  side  —  John  Hitchcock ; 
Jo  Clarke ;  Jon  Lombard ;  Sam  Bliss  : 

On  the  South  —  Jos  Thomas;  Tho  Stebbins  ;  Jos  Bedortha. 

Those  of  the  present  generation  having  ancestors  in  this  congrega- 
tion, and  being  curious  to  learn  their  social  importance,  can  entertain 
themselves  by  studying  the  above  list ;  and,  if  the  family  vanity  is 
not  flattered  by  ancestral  assignments  to  '^  y*^  Backer  seate,"  let  it  be 
remembered  that  the  good  people  of  that  day  were  themselves  often 
quite  as  much  disturbed  at  the  way  they  were  ranked.  This  trouble 
became  so  serious  in  1666  that  the  selectmen  were  compelled  to  inter- 
fere ;  many  having  refused  to  sit  where  they  were  assigned,  and  hav- 
ing acted  "  with  a  high  hand,"  it  was  ordered  :  — 

Whosoever  of  this  towneship  shall  not  fro  tyme  to  tyme  in  respect  of  their 
sitting  in  y^  meeting  house  submit  y'"selves  to  the  ordering  of  y^  Select  men  & 
Deacons  or  such  as  are  impowered  to  seate  &  order  psons  in  y^  meeting  house  : 
All  such  Persons  as  shall  refuse  or  neglect  to  attend  unto  order  as  aforsd  shall 
forfeite  as  is  hereafter  expressed  viz  :  Hee  or  She  that  shall  not  take  his  or  her 
seate  ordered  y'"  from  Tyme  to  tyme  But  shall  on  y^  days  or  Tymes  of  Gods 
Publike  worsliip  Goe  mto  &  abide  in  any  other  seate  appointed  for  some  other ; 
Such  disorderly  pson  or  psons  for  y^  first  offence  shall  forfeit  Three  shillings 
foure  pence  toy^  Towne  Treasury,  avCi  ^\x^\\  be  exacted  by  warrant  fro  y^  Select- 
men directed  to  y^  Constable  to  Levy  ye  same,  And  if  afterward  Hee  or  Shee 
shall  still  psist  in  such  disorder,  they  shall  pay  sixe  shillings  eight  pence  as  a  fine 
to  ye  Towne  to  be  exacted  as  aforesd ;  &  if  a  od  tyme  they  shall  still  psist  in  such 
obstinacy,  such  pson  to  pay  Ten  shillings  to  ye  Towne ;  to  be  exacted  as  aforesd ; 
And  if  afterwards  they  shall  still  psist  in  such  obstinacy,  ye  selectmen  are  hereby 
ordered  to  complaine  of  such  pson  to  ye  magistrate  or  county  courte  to  deale 
with  them  as  they  shall  Judge  meete  : 

And  whereas  the  Seate  w^'i  was  made  by  ye  Towne  at  a  common  Town  charge 
(formerly  called  the  Guard  seate)  is  now  appointed  by  the  selectmen  (Avho  only 
have  ye  disposing  of  that  Seate)  for  Boys  to  sit  in ;    &  y^'  Selectmen  having  de- 


132  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

clared  that  the  smaler  Boys  should  sit  there,  that  they  may  be  more  in  sight  of  y*' 
congregation  &  having  warned  all  men  out  y*^  said  seate,  both  maryed  &  other 
growne  psons,  some  whereoff  doe  still  continue  to  sit  there,  &  seem  as  if  they 
did  it  wth  a  high  hand ;  It  is  therefore  hereby  ordered  that  uoe  Persons  of  this 
Towneship  above  y*'  age  of  15  or  16  yeares  shall  sit  in  y^  seate  aforesd  formerly 
called  ye  Guard  Seate,  unless  he  be  ordered  to  sit  there  to  looke  to  y^  Boys,  etc. 

The  selectmen  promulgating  this  order  were  John  Pynchon,  George 
Colton,  Benjamin  Cooley,  Samuel  Marshfield,  and  Lawrence  Bliss. 
This  vigorous  action  seemed  to  have  a  sobering  effect ;  but  it  did 
not  pave  the  way  for  a  permanent  peace  among  the  young  people  in 
the  gallery.  Some  years  later  (1669)  Miles  Morgan  and  Jonathan 
Burt  were  stationed  "  up  in  y''  gallery  to  give  a  check  to  disorders  in 
youth  &  young  men  In  tyme  of  God's  worship.  Anthony  Dorchester 
to  sit  in  y''  guard  seate  for  y^  like  end." 

The  time  had  come  for  some  more  definite  arrangement  on  the 
Connecticut  than  pett}^  justices  at  the  infant  toAvns  of  Northampton 
and  Hadley,  and  recourse  to  the  Springfield  judicial  connnissioners, 
by  special  orders  of  the  General  Court :  ''  It  is  ordered  by  this  Court 
&  authority  thereof,"  so  runs  the  ancient  record,  ^'that  henceforth 
Springfield,  Northampton,  and  Hadley  shall  be  &  hereby  are  consti- 
tuted as  a  county."  The  county  ran  from  the  Connecticut  line  to 
indefinite  points,  not  more  than  thirty  miles  from  any  of  the  towns. 
This  would  bring  the  county  into  what  is  now  Vermont  and  New 
Hampshire.  Springfield  was  made  the  shire  town,  the  court  sitting 
alternately  at  Springfield  and  Northampton.  The  colony  tax  was  to 
be  paid  in  cattle  or  corn.  A  county  government,  however,  had  been 
practically  in  operation  for  two  years.  At  tlie  May  term  of  the 
General  Court,  1659,  the  inhabitants  of  Springfield  had  presented  a 
petition  for  some  form  of  shire  government,  and  ''  Capt.  John  Pinchon, 
Left:  Elitzur  Holiocke,  and  Mr.  Sanuiel  Chapin  "  were  chosen  for  one 
year  to  hold  court,  "  Northampton  to  be  referred  to  Springfeild  in 
reference  to  County  Courts."  These  courts,  it  was  decreed,  "shall 
in  all  respects  have  the  power  and  priviledges  of  any  County  Courte 


SPRINGFIELD,    26S6-1886.  133 


till  this  Court  shall  see  cause  otherwise  to  determine."  Thus,  during 
the  years  1660  and  1661  we  had  a  provisional  count}'  court.  Mr. 
Pynchon  took  the  oath  in  open  court  at  Boston,  and  subsequently 
administered  it  to  Mr.   Holyoke  and  Mr.   Chapin. 

After  the  formation  of  Hampshire  county,  in  1662,  the  count}'  taxes 
collected  by  the  constables  were  ordered  to  be  delivered  to  the  county 
treasurer  at  Springfield  or  at  AVindsor,  each  town  to  pay  for  trans- 
portation. In  1664  the  commissioner  and  selectmen  of  all  the  towns 
were  summoned  before  the  County  Court  for  not  making  out  the  tax 
assessment  on  time.  Ensign  Cooper,  tax  commissioner,  who  was 
specially  sunmioned  to  appear,  was  fined  6s.  d>d.  for  not  responding. 
For  several  ^^ears  the  judges  seemed  to  have  the  greatest  difficulty  in 
making  the  town  and  county  officers  do  their  duty.  The  court  being- 
somewhat  of  a  legislative  body,  as  we  will  see,  found  the  burdens  of 
administration  of  justice  very  severe.  A  Hadley  man  who  was 
chosen  to  carry  the  votes  for  magistrate  to  Boston,  neglected  to  do 
it,  and  w^as  fined.  Anthony  Dorchester,  of  Springfield,  constable, 
failed  to  make  returns  of  warrants  for  jurymen  in  1666,  and  was 
fined.  Springfield  had  been  previousl}-  fined  bs.  for  having  a  defec- 
tive pound,  and  was  subsequently  before  the  court  for  not  choosing 
a  "  gager  for  cask." 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Springfield  was  freed  from  paying  a 
portion  of  the  colon}^  taxes  when  AVilliam  Pynchon  was  magistrate. 
On  account  of  special  hardships  at  the  time  of  the  formation  of  the 
county,  another  attempt  in  that  direction  was  made,  and  with  what 
success  this  vote  of  Aug.  14,  1662,  at  Boston  shows  :  — 

In  reference  to  y*^  order  of  \  •'  Gen'  Cort  last  May  that  yf  Inhabitants  of  tliese 
Townes  on  Qoonectticot  should  pay  there  come  to  y*"  countey  Rates  not  as  ye 
court  sets  y^  price  yearly  but  at  such  price  as  it  passes  among  themseh^es  :  The 
Towne  concieving  it  more  hard  for  us  than  for  other  Townes  in  y^  Collony  and 
not  to  be  according  to  law,  voted  to  send  a  Petition  to  y*'  next  Gen^  Court  for 
easing  y*^  Paymt  &  that  it  may  be  accordinge  to  Law.  And  M"".  Holyyke  is 
appointed  to  draw  it  up. 


134  SPRINGFIELD,    16S6-1SS6. 

The  fence  question,  which,  from  the  first  settlement  in  this  valley, 
was  a  constant  source  of  trouble,  came  under  the  eye  of  the  County 
Court,  and  it  is  interesting  to  note  how  the  judges  handled  a  matter 
that  was  the  despair  of  local  legislators.  We  quote  from  the  records 
of  the  Hampshire  County  Court,  held  at  Springfield,  in  September, 
1664.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that  Pjmchou  was  a  member  of  the 
court,  and  upon  the  jurj^-list  were  Robert  Ashle}^  John  Dumbleton 
(who  had  been  a  servant  of  a  Mr.  Whiting,  at  Hartford,  and  had 
lived  awhile  at  Windsor  before  coming  to  Springfield),  and  Rice 
Bodortha :  — 


Jolm  Dumbleton  &  Thomas  Miller  of  Springfield  were  presented  by  the  Jury 
to  this  Courte  for  y*"  breach  of  a  law  of  this  Jurisdiction  for  not  attending  their 
office  for  viewing  the  fences  on  the  West  side  of  the  River  at  Springf eild : 

This  Courte  Freeth  John  Dumbleton  for  that  he  pleadeth  y*  he  would  have 
attended  it  but  could  not  gett  liis  partner  to  joyne  wth  him  in  ye  service  but 
Thomas  Miller  Mas  fyned  in  y^  summe  of  28  to  y^  use  of  y^  County. 

Robert  Ashley  &  Jonathan  Burt  were  presented  for  the  like  offense  in  not 
viewing  the  fenses  on  y«'  East  side  of  y^  River  (at  Springfeild)  being  chosen  for 
ye  work  :  But  Robert  Ashley  pleaded  y^  he  had  not  warning  y*  he  was  soe  chosen 
&  it  beinge  not  proved  y^  he  hadwarninge;  The  Select  men  are  fyned  20s.  a 
peese  for  the  use  of  the  Towue  according  to  y^  laAv  except  they  can  cleare 
y'"selves  that  they  did  give  warning  to  y^  viewers,  w^''  Capt.  Pynchon  is  ordered 
to  examine  &  determine,  vizt  whether  he  had  Legall  warning,  and  if  he  fynd 
Robert  Ashley  had  Legall  warning  y'"of  then  the  Select  mens  fynes  are  to  be 
remitted  &  he  is  to  pay  as  a  fyne  20s.  for  the  use  of  the  County. 

Anthony  Dorchester  &  Rice  Bedortha  surveyors  of  y**  high  wayes  for  Spring- 
field Avere  presented  to  this  Courte  for  neglecting  their  work  in  the  Season 
allotted  by  their  Town  Order  Avhereby  the  ways  Avere  very  bad  &  dangerous ; 
therefore  they  are  by  this  Courte  fined  5s.  peese. 

The  jury  also  presented  Capt.  Pynchon  &  Jno.  Scott  for  not  maynteyning 
their  fenses  on  the  West  side  of  ye  River  A  breach  of  the  Law  of  this  Jurisdic- 
tion : 

The  Courte  uppon  hearing  the  cause  and  perusinge  y^  aggreemts  between 
Capt.  Pynchon  &  Jno.  Scott  did  judge  y*  y*"  blame  of  not  repayring  the  fenses 
lyes  uppon  Scott  because  though  Capt.  Pynchon  were  to  alloAv  for  making  the 


SPRINGFIELD.    1636-1886.  135 

f enses  yet  Jno.  Scott  Avho  improoved  the  land  was  to  repairs  thera  &  therefore 
doe  judge  y^  Jno  Scott  shall  pay  his  fyne  to  the  towne  awardinge  to  y^  Town 
Orders  in  Springfield  according  to  Law. 

The  County  Court  had  likewise  jurisdiction  of  the  common  lands, 
and  man}^  cases  are  reported  for  damages  to  crops  by  cattle.  These 
disputes,  in  the  earlier  years  of  the  plantation,  were  brought  up  in 
town-meeting,  and  often  put  out  to  "  two  indifferent  men."  In 
1664  John  Leonard,  of  Springfield,  was  fined  five  Imshels  of  Indian 
corn,  to  be  paid  to  Thomas  Mirrick,  for  letting  his  cattle  loose  in  the 
common  corn-field. 

There  was,  of  course,  much  regular  count}-  business,  as  we  under- 
stand it  to-day.  In  March,  1674,  our  old  friend,  Anthony  Dor- 
chester, was  authorized  to  keep  a  ferry  on  the  Connecticut,  below  the 
Agawam  river,  and  to  make  these  charges:  "Horse  and  man,  8d.  ; 
foot  passengers,  2d.  ;  troopers  of  training  days,  3d." 

Mr.  Pynchon  himself,  as  well  as  Mr.  Holyoke  and  George  Colton, 
were  presented  b}^  the  jury  for  selling  unwashed  wool,  contrar}^  to  law, 
but  they  were  not  fined,  as  the  wool  was  not  in  bales,  and  the  prices 
were  reduced  on  account  of  its  condition.  The  minister,  Mr.  Glover, 
was  in  coiut  in  September,  1672,  as  thus  appears  :  — 

Mr.  Glover  complaynes  agt  Robin  the  Indian  for  steafing  3  or  4  gold  rings  & 
2  half  half  crownes  English  money  knives  and  a  search  being  made  the  rings 
were  found  in  his  wigwam  the  money  he  had  sold  to  Goodm  Ely,  all  are  restored 
to  ]M'.  Glover,  And  the  Indian  being  apprehended  &  put  in  prison  he  made 
escape  from  y*^  Gaylor  before  other  punishment  could  be  inflicted  on  him. 

The  court  as  well  as  the  town  authorities  kept  a  sharp  hold  upon 
church  members  in  matters  of  discipline.  In  1665  the  Count}'  Court 
had  Walter  Lee  before  it  for  threshing  corn  on  the  Sabbath  at  AVo- 
ronoco.    We  learn  by  the  record  that  Lee  was  a  hard  case.    It  runs  :  — 

AValter  Lee  being  presented  &  complayned  of  to  this  Courte  for  his  passing 
the  Lords  dav  at  Worronoco  this  Last  Winter  in  that  he  threshed  corne  on  the 


136  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

Sabbath  av*='^  act  he  acknowledged  to  be  soe  for  liis  calling  Isaak  Sheldon  a  mem- 
ber of  Old  Nick  &  a  member  of  the  Devill  And  for  his  contempt  of  the  Au- 
thority in  Springf  eild  in  saying  he  thought  he  might  as  well  believe  his  boy  (when 
he  said  Springfeild  commissioners  threatened  him  with  y^  Stocks  &  pmised  him 
some  new  clothes)  as  the  said  Commissioners  in  declaring  w'  his  boy  said  ag* 
him :  This  court  judged  the  said  to  pay  as  a  fyne  to  y^  Courte  the  summe  of 
20s. 

John  Webb  was  before  the  same  court. 

John  AVebb  Senr,  being  presented  by  \^  Jury  for  abusing  y*"  Constable  in  ex- 
ecution of  his  office  in  Elizur  Holyokes  case  in  saying  of  the  Constables  he  would 
make  it  too  hott  for  him  if  he  lay  there.  &.  his  neck  so  stretch  before  the  morrow 
if  he  tooke  any  harme  by  his  lodging  there ;  also  for  that  he  said  he  could  afford 
to  thumb  both  y^  Constables  and  his  man  that  attended  him  &  for  his  contempt- 
uous behavior  toward  Xorthampton  Commissioners,  he  is  fyned  to  y^  county  by 
this  Courte  in  j^  summe  of  40s. 

Ministers  and  judges  alike  shared  the  ill-will  of  those  unruly  spirits. 
In  1668  our  bibulous  acquaintance,  John  Matthews,  was  led  to  the 
post  and  severely  flogged  for  the  ofl:ence  referred  to  below  :  — 

John  ^lattheAvs  of  Springfield  being  by  Capt.  Pynchon  bound  over  to  this 
Courte  to  answer  for  his  exceeding  contemptuous  behavior  towards  M'"  Glover 
minister  of  y*'  AVord  :  the  sd  Matthews  appearing  at  this  Courte  &  the  evidences 
pduced  &  read,  it  appeareth  that  his  carriage  was  very  odious  &  shamefull  to 
wards  M"^  Glover  in  a  very  vile  manner  much  after  the  custome  of  y«^  Quakers 
reviling  M"^  Glover  as  by  the  testimon3"s  more  at  large  appeareth  : 

This  Courte  therefore  doth  judge  the  sd  John  Matthews  to  be  well  Avhipped  on 
the  naked  body  with  fifteen  stripes  &  that  he  be  bounde  in  y^  summe  of  tenn 
pounds  for  his  good  behavior  till  the  Courte  at  Springfield  in  Sept  next  &  that  he 
pay  costs  of  Courte  vizt  20s  for  Courte  charges. 

Execution  also  was  pformed  according  to  y*"  sentence. 

It  is  sad  to  relate  that  the  duties  of  beating  the  drum  for  divine 
service  did  not  have  a  more  salutary  influence  upon  Matthews.  This 
reference  to  the  Quakers  brings  up  a  subject  not  quite  in  the  line  of 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  137 


our  narrative,  except  as  it  was  one  of  the  causes  of  anxiety  on  the  part 
of  our  forefathers,  who  hated  heresy  quite  as  cordially  as  Catholicism 
itself.  In  March,  1673,  a  Westfield  Quaker  was  dealt  with,  but  by  no 
means  so  severely  as  the  Bay  authorities  would  have  done.  The  case 
was  as  follows  :  — 

Geo.  Filer  of  AVestfield  being  presented  by  the  Jury  for  diverse  disorders 
and  being  examined  firstly,  for  entertayning  of  Quakers  Last  summer :  he  ownes 
he  did  entertayne  them  being  necessitated  thereunto  because  none  else  would  as 
he  sayes.  George  Filer  sayth  he  shall  before  the  World  own  that  he  is  one  of 
them  whom  y*^  world  calls  Quakers  :  Also  he  is  presented  for  absenting  liimselfe 
from  Gods  pubhke  worship  on  y^  Sabbath  he  ownes  he  has  gen^lly  absented  himself 
geni^lly  last  winter,  his  speeches  have  been  contemptuous  of  the  Ministers  of  the 
Word  and  their  Avork  vizt  that  they  turne  over  20  or  30  Authors  in  a  week  to 
patch  up  an  bourses  discourse  or  two  on  the  Sabbath  :  And  tho  he  would  pretend 
that  he  meant  not  the  ministry  in  that  Town  or  of  N  England,  yet  by  the  testi- 
monyes  it  appeares  otherwise  :  He  seems  to  be  a  very  seminary  of  corrupt  & 
hereticall  opinions  tending  to  poysoning  &  corrupting  the  minds  of  them  w^^^  w™ 
he  hath  to  do :  And  in  speaking  of  the  rehgion  of  the  Quakers  (he  speaks  of  it 
as  distinct  from  that  pfessed  by  our  Nation  in  this  countrey)  he  calls  it  Our 
religion-  that  is  his  own  &  such  as  hee. 

Filer  was  simply  reprimanded  for  his  opinions,  but  £5  fine  "  or  be 
well  whipped"  was  imposed  for  his  "  speaking  against  the  ministry." 

We  will  not  leave  John  Matthews  without  transcribing  a  very  cu- 
rious  and  interesting  record  found  at  Northampton,  where  the  County  ' 
Court  sat  in  September,  1678.      While  it  is  a  few  years  beyofid  the 
limits  of  the  period  dealt  with  in  this  chapter,  it  can  best  be  given 
here  :  —  ^ 

John  Matthews  of  Springfield  being  be  y^  Grandjury  Presented  to  this  Courte 
for  his  Scandoulous  vile  revileing  of  his  Neighbor  Jon^i^  Burt  and  appeareing  in 
Courte  &  being  examined  according  to  his  Presentmt  he  did  acknowledge  his 
fault  f ulhe  according  to  y«  testimony  given  in  against  him.  This  Courte  Weighing 
his  ungodlie  unseemelieness  of  his  sin  as  it  stands  odiouslie  Circumstanced  under 
ye  Considerations  of  a  hoarie  heade  which  Ought  above  Others  to  be  f ounde  in  y^ 
way  of  Righteousness  and  his  long  Profession  &  standing  in  Christeanitie  Could 


138  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1S86. 


doe  noe  less  As  alsoe  would  Beare  due  testimony  agst  such  Scandoulous  ungod- 
lieness  They  adjudge  y^  Old  man  Professor  to  be  well  Whipt  on  y"  naked  back 
with  ten  Stripes  Butt  upon  y^  Motion  of  some  of  his  Neighbors  &  y^  Intreatie  of 
y^  Delinquente  y^  such  severe  Punishment  might  a  while  mitigated  or  respitted 
Promising  y'  Lenitie  or  liopeing  y'  Lenitie  may  Pather  y"  such  Severitie  may 
gaine  y^  deUuquent  to  reflection  on  his  vile  course  &  amendment.  This  Courte 
likes  well  of  this  motion  &  Being  agreived  in  there  thoughts  to  smite  old  age, 
doe  recall  the  judgemt  from  being  justly  executed  on  y^  old  man  &  delinquent 
for  ye  triall  of  his  good  behaviour. 

Matthews  was  bound  over  in  £5  to  keep  the  peace ;  but  he  for- 
feited his  bond  by  not  appiearing  as  ordered  at  the  next  court.  Four 
years  later  Matthews  was  put  under  a  guardian,  and  his  child  main- 
tained by  the  town.  The  above  record  is  an  invaluable  and  pre- 
cious bit  of  evidence  of  the  working  of  the  true  and  enduring  spirit 
of  forbearance  that  follows  in  the  path  of  strict  justice.  We  asso- 
ciate so  continually  the  iron  in  the  dispensations  of  New  England 
jurisprudence  that  the  other  side  of  the  picture  rarely  appears.  But 
directly  upon  the  heel  of  this  and  like  attempts  to  reform  as  well  as 
punish  offenders  in  the  same  breath  come  some  truly  Spartan  exhibi- 
tions of  justice.  We  ma}-  not  applaud  the  law,  but  must  admire  its 
impartial  application.  The  colonial  laws  regulated  the  subject  of 
extravagant  dressing,  and  our  Hampshire  court  was  awake  to  its 
duty.  The  County  Court  first  took  notice  of  this  class  of  offences  by 
summoning  before  it  the  selectmen  of  all  the  towns  for  not  assessing 
''  forbidden  apparel "  at  its  full  value,  and  this  not  leading  to  a  ref- 
ormation the  extravagant  women  were  duly  proceeded  against  under 
the  colonial  law.  In  many  cases,  when  women  were  summoned  be- 
fore the  court  on  a  charge  of  w^earing  silks  or  finery,  their  husbands 
were  forced  to  apologize  for  their  absence.  It  was  a  very  difficult 
thing  to  bring  women  into  court.  In  September,  1673,  it  is  re- 
corded :  — 

Diverse  women  at  Springfeild  presented  at  y<^  Courte  in  March  last  for  that 
being  of  meane  estate  they  did  weare  Silkes  contrary  to  Law  vixt  Goodwife 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  139 


Labden  Goody  Colton  Goody  Morgan  Goody  Barnard  Mercy  &  Hephzibod  Jones 
Hunters  wife  &  Daughter  &  Abell  Wrights  wife,  &  warned  to  this  Courte  the 
six  former  app^'ing  in  Courte  they  were  admonisht  of  their  extravagancyes  & 
disraist. 

The  Goody  Morgan  referred  to  was  Mrs.  David  Morgan.  Three 
years  later  the  following  persons  were  "presented  by  y'  Grandjury 
to  y^  Courte  at  Northampton  March  26  1676  some  for  wearing  of  silk 
&  yMn  a  flonting  manner  &  attire  for  Long  haire  &  other  extravegan- 
cies,  Contrary  to  honest  &  Labor  Order  &  Demeanor  not  Becoming 
a  Wilderness  State  at  Least  y^  Profession  of  Christianity  &  Religion." 
In  the  list  of  offenders  were  the  following  from  this  village  :  "  Wife 
of  Henry  Rogers,  Lidia  Exile,  Hanah  Morgan,  Sarah  Gilburt, 
Hanah  Leonard,  Nath'^  BUss,  Thos  Stebbins  &  his  wife,  John  Bakers 
wife,  Jonth  Stebbins,  Henry  Chapin,  Corporal  Holyoke,  Mary  & 
Sarah  Colton,  Sarah  Cooley,  Meriam  Merricke,  Sarah  &  Mary 
Dumbleton." 

Warrants  arrived  in  Springfield  in  1661,  from  the  Bay,  for  the 
arrest  of  the  regicides  Goffe  and  Walley,  but  it  may  be  inferred  that 
as  both  fugitives  passed  through  the  town,  the  vigilance  of  the  author- 
ities was  not  of  a  remarkable  order. 

Before  following  the  course  of  legislation  and  administration  of 
justice  during  this  period,  we  Avill  dispose  of  the  numerous  offences 
against  private  morals  by  saying  that  the  records  show  that  for  many 
years,  indeed,  until  the  eighteenth  century,  the  local  authorities 
and  the  country  magistrates  had  as  much  trouble  in  enforcing  the 
laws  in  this  regard  as  those  of  theft  and  of  assault  and  battery 
together.  Ail  that  need  be  attempted  here  is  the  quotation  of  speci- 
men cases.  We  find  the  following  in  the  court  record,  under  date  of 
September,  1660,  at  the  Springfield  session  :  — 

John  Stebbins  of  Northampton  beinge  bound  to  presente  Robert  Lyman  of  the 
same  Towne  for  misdeameaninge  himselfe  towards  his,  the  said  John  Stebbins 
wife  :  he  the  said  John  Stebbins  complaines  to  this  courte  that  the    said   Robert 


140  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


f  requentinge  the  said  Johns  house  did  use  very  evil  &  unseemly  behavior  towards 
his  the  said  Jolnis  wife  enticeinge  her  several  tymes  that  he  might  ly  wth  her, 
takinge  lier  m  liis  amies  &  other^\^se  venting  liis  unchast  desires. 


Lyman  was  tlued  £10  and  bound  over  to  keep  the  peace.     Some 
years  later  a  Hadley  Indian  was  caught  in  compromising  relations 
with  Rebecca  Allen,  of  Northampton.     He  was  committed  to  "  two 
able   young    men"    to    be    conve3^ed    to   Springfield,   but  "as   they 
travelled  he  used  means  to  loose   his   bond  and   escaped,  notwith- 
standing their  utmost  endeavors  to  take  him."     The  girl  was  con- 
demned to  twenty  stripes,  the  court  believing  that  she  did  not  resist 
him  as  she  should  have  done.     The  punishment  was  deferred  until 
after  the  birth  of  her  child.     Ebenezer  and  Hannah  Miller  confessed 
in  open  court  to  improper  relations  before  marriage,  and  were  fined 
40s.     Masters  often  flogged  their  slaves  for  immoralities,  and  in  at 
least  one   case   the   court  ordered   a   father  to  whip  his  boy  on  the 
naked  back  in  the  presence  of  the  constable,  or  to  pay  a  fine,  for  his 
relations  with  a  negress.     The  boy  had  told  the  judges  that  he  had 
been  tempted  by  the  negress,  and  might  have  fallen,  "  if  God  had  not 
kept  him."     The  court  refused  to  accept  his  word.     In  1673  Hannah, 
the  unmarried  daughter  of  Thomas  Mirrick,  accused  Jonathan  Mor- 
gan, son  of  Miles  Morgan,  of  the  paternity  of  her  child.     Miles  and 
David  Morgan  went  his   bail.     The   following  year  Jonathan,  who 
made  a  stout  fight,  and  appears  to  have  won  over  many  to  the  belief 
in  his  innocence,  was  forced  by  a  decree  of  the  court  to  pay  2s.  M. 
weekly  for  the  first  four  years  toward  the  support  of  the  child.     The 
witness  whose  word  settled  the  doubt  in  the  minds  of  the  court  was 
Mrs.  Elizur  Holyoke  (his  second  wife).     She  received  from  Hannah 
a  full  confession,  and  the  girl  was  condemned  to  pay  £7  or  receive 
twenty  stripes.     Even  at  this  late  stage  Jonathan  was  not  content  to 
let  the  matter  drop,  and  brought  a  suit  for  slander  against  Thomas 
Mirrick,    Hannah's    father,    for    circulating    charges    against    him. 
Jonathan  lost  his  case.     Eight   years  later,  Miles  Morgan    was  in 


SPRIXGFIELD,    1636-1886.  141 

trouble  over  another  child.  His  daughter  Lydia  worked  in  the  family 
of  Samuel  Gaines,  of  Hartford,  who  became  the  father  of  her  illegit- 
imate child.  The  suit  of  Mr.  Morgan  against  Gaines  resulted  in  a 
decree  of  maintenance  of  the  child  against  the  latter. 

In  passing  a  sentence  of  "  ten  stripes  "  upon  a  man  for  immoral 
conduct  and  li\ing  "apart  from  his  wife,"  the  judges  declared  their 
' '  greate  Cause  to  Lament  and  bewaile  y^  sore  hand  of  God  agst  us 
in  suffering  such  ^dle  inormityes  to  Breake  out  amongst  us  w'^''  as  a 
Flood  doe  threaten  to  overwhelme  us." 

Griffith  Jones,  who  figured  in  the  witchcraft  case,  was  given  fifteen 
lashes  on  the  bare  back  for  low  conversation  among  young  people ; 
and  there  is  reported  a  case  before  Mr.  Pynchon,  where  it  was  decreed, 
in  reference  to  the  disposal  of  the  illegitimate  child  of  two  negro 
slaves,  that  "  the  masters  of  s"^  negroes  be  joynt  &  equall  in  the 
charge  of  s*^  child  either  in  paymts  or  otherwise  till  s*^  child  attaine 
y®  age  of  nine  years  &  then  to  have  a  joynt  &  equall  propertie  in  s*' 
child  of  value  thereof  to  be  divided  between  y"^,  or  one  of  them 
taking  the  child  the  other  to  have  paymt  of  full  one  half  of  y®  valine 
of  s*^  child  from  him  who  hath  y®  child."  Both  negroes  were  flogged, 
the  woman  receiving  fifteen  lashes  before,  and  fifteen  lashes  after  her 
sickness. 

Francis  Hacklinton,  of  Northampton,  while  furnishing  brick  for 
Pynchon's  new  house,  found  time  to  act  scandalously  toward  Pyn- 
chon's  domestic.  Hector  Bliss,  and  Mrs.  Samuel  Ely  circulated  evil 
reports  about  them.  Hacklinton  sued  Mrs.  Ely  for  slander,  but  lost 
his  case. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  these  sad  exhibitions  were  the  result  of 
the  lack  in  the  Puritan  polity  of  proper  provision  for  innocent 
amusement,  sports,  or  pastime.  To  remark  that  Springfield  life  was 
an  unrelieved  struggle  with  Satan  and  the  wilderness  is  only  admit- 
ting that  it  was  a  worthy  member  of  the  Massachusetts  family  of 
towns.  There  was  a  despotism  of  theory  and  practice  that  regulated 
the  movement  of  evervbody,  from  the  magistrate  and  minister  to  the 


142  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


slave,  and  family  government  was  a  part  of  the  grand  scheme  which 
began  in  town-meeting  and  ended  in  paradise  or  the  bottomless  pit. 
Fancy  the  spirit  of  the  age  which  made  it  possible  for  a  court  to 
order  a  man  to  flog  his  son  upon  the  bare  back  in  the  presence  of  the 
town  officers  and  possibly  a  gaping  crowd  ! 

The  Count}"  Court  kept  a  sharp  eye  upon  the  home,  and  was  quick 
to  enforce  the  parental  authority.  Samuel  Ball  was  ordered  to  be 
flogged  because  he  used  abusive  language  to  his  father-in-law,  Ben- 
jamin Munn,  saying  that  he  respected  him  "no  more  than  an  old 
Indian,"  and  exclaiming,  "A  father!  There's  a  father  indeed!" 
Here  is  a  specimen  vote  of  this  period  touching  the  management  of 
children:  "This  Courte  doth  ord""  Capt.  Pynchon  w*^  y^  Select 
men  of  Springfield  to  dispose  of  James  Osborne's  eldest  son,  there 
being  complaynt  made  to  this  court  y*  the  said  Lads  t3"me  is  spent 
very  unprofitably." 

Whenever  a  town  showed  any  signs  of  relaxation  in  family  govern- 
ment the  court  would  sharply  reprimand  the  selectmen,  who  were  in 
general  ordered  to  "  regulate  &  settle  young  p'sons  under  Govern- 
ment according  to  law."     This  meant  family  government,  of  course. 

In  March,  1675,  the  County  Court  lamented  "much  idle  expense  of 
Precious  time,"  and  prohibited  tavern-keepers  from  selling  liquor 
to  any  but  "  Governers  of  families  of  Sober  Carriage,  y^  intent  of 
this  order  being  y^  such  Persons  y*  have  y^  liberty  should  use  y^""  but 
to  prevent  a  trade  of  Drinking  &  Drunkenes  amongst  us." 

The  children  of  the  town  were  brought  into  very  close  relations  to 
the  ty thing-man,  and  at  all  times  were  made  conscious  that  the  eye  of 
authorit}^  was  upon  them.  The  ty  thing-men  for  Springfield,  appointed 
at  the  March  term  for  1678,  were  as  follows  :  — 


I  To  Inspect  ye  upper  pt  of  y'  Town  all  Families  from  y*^^  uppermost 

I      House  to  M""  Glover's  House  inclusiA-elie. 

n  ^  ,,    (  To  Inspect  all  v''  Famielies  from  M'  Glovers  to  Jno  Clarks  House 
Sam"  Ball  < 

I      mclusivehe. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  143 


(  To  Inspect  all  y''  famielies  from  thence  to  Obadiali  Coohe.s  in- 
Increase  Sikes    , 

I      cluesivelie. 

Israel  Colton  .  To  Inspect  all  \^  Famielies  in  y^"  Long  Meadow. 

Jno  Barber  senr  |     ,,  .  ,.  .      ^  .,  , 

-   All  \^  famielies  on  ye  West  side  of  y"?  Kiver  at  Sprmgfeild. 
James  Taylor       I        ^  ^  ^  ^       ^ 


The  court  added  the  following  order,  which,  it  may  be  remembered, 
is  not  in  the  phraseology  of  the  colony  laws,  and  technically,  at  least, 
is  in  the  nature  of  legislation  :  — 

All  w<='>  Persons  as  aforesd  being  Authorized  y^  Tithing  men  for  y^  severall 
Townes  as  aforesd  are  hereby  required  faithfullie  to  act  in  inspecting  of  y" 
Neighbors,  so  as  y*"  sin  &  disorder  be  prevented  &  Suppresd  in  there  severall 
Precints,  &  as  occation  may  be  to  assist  One  another  &  act  in  One  anothers 
Precints  dischargeing  ye  office  of  tithing  men,  according  to  y^  law  made  Noy 
1675,  May  1677,  Oct'  1677  they  haveing  Refference  thereunto  —  And  Further 
this  Courte  doth  now  Comend  to  these  tithing  men  &  require  y'"  dilegenthe  to 
take  Care  y*^  y*^  Sabbath  be  not  Prophaned  by  Youth  or  elder  Persons  sitting 
or  standing  abroad  out  of  their  Meeting  houses  in  ye  time  of  Gods  Publique 
AVorshipp  whereby  they  are  exposed  to  many  temptations  &  divertions.  But  y' 
they  do  Check  all  such  Persons  &  soe  deale  with  y™  as  therebj'^  to  enforce 
them  to  goe  in  Avithin  there  Meeting  Houses  where  they  may  attend  better 
and  be  in  sight  or  otherwise  to  present  there  names  in  Case  such  doe  not 
reforme,  to  y*'  Magestrates  Comissors  or  other  authoreeties  in  ye  severall  Towns 
to  proceed  against  such  Persons  y*  shall  remayne  refrectory  according  as  they 
shall  see  Cause.  As  alsoe  to  have  a  vigelent  eye  upon  such  Persons  y'  shall 
without  just  and  necessary  Cause  be  unseasonablie  abroade  in  ye  Evenings  from 
yi'"  parents  &  Masters  Famielies  all  Persons  being  to  repaire  to  their  Lodgings 
or  homes  by  Nine  of  ye  Clocke  at  Night  or  rather  Before,  And  what  Persons 
soe  ever  they  find  faultie  herein  in  being  abroade  unseasonablie  or  othrwise 
faultie  they  are  to  admonish  &  hasten  to  y''"  oun  proper  places  of  aboade  Avheather 
they  are  to  repaire  w"  it  draws  towards  Nine  of  Clock  at  Night. 

Under  the  shadow  of  this  supervision  the  ^^outh  grew  ;  but  one 
finds  a  singularly  Roman  spirit  of  administration  of  the  law.  AYhen 
the  lad  Samuel  Holyoke  was  caught  with  other  boys  making  a  dis- 


144  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

turbance  one  Sabbath  day,  and  was  brought,  with  the  rest,  before  the 
court  of  which  his  father  was  a  member,  no  parental  consideration 
prevented  the  imposition  of  the  regular  fine.  The  boy  subsequently 
became  the  lioted  Indian  fighter,  Samuel  Holyoke. 

It  was  some  time  after  the  first  meeting-house  was  put  up  that 
glass  was  secured  for  the  windows,  and  the  natural  curiosity  of  the 
children  went  to  the  usual  lengths,  and  some  of  the  windows  were 
broken.  The  selectmen  at  once  laid  down  a  rule  that  a  child  caught 
at  any  sports  about  the  meeting-house  should  be  fined,  and  in  case 
the  governors  or  parents  refused  to  pay  the  fine  the  children  should 
be  duly  whipped  in  the  presence  of  the  board.  Having  run  beyond 
the  date  of  this  chapter,  we  will  go  a  step  farther  and  add  some 
orders  passed  in  1680  :  — 

Wher  as  there  liave  ben  for  a  longe  tyme  great  disorcUr  in  our  asembly  by 
many  young  persons  flocking  out  of  the  meeting  hous  before  the  blessing  is 
pronounsed  many  of  them  canot  be  thought  to  have  any  nesesyty  so  to  do  and 
thare  being  a  Cuntry  law  that  doth  comend  it  to  the  select  mens  care  and  it  being 
a  grief  to  seryous  minds,  we  doe  declare  and  order  that  no  person  so  doe  ex- 
ceptin  thare  shall  be  a  nesesary  ocasyon :  and  we  doe  request  and  order  Increse 
Sickes  to  keepe  the  east  doore  and  Isaack  Gleson  and  Benjamen  Thomas  to 
looke  to  the  South  doore.  And  we  doe  request  Liftenant  Stebins  to  apoynt  on 
of  the  gaurd  to  see  to  the  youth  there  about  etc. 

It  is  also  ordered  by  the  Selectmen  that  all  persons  or  boys  under  the  age  of 
twelve  years  of  age  sit  on  that  seat  under  the  Decons  seat  and  also  on  that  seat 
against  it  and  on  the  stars,  only  they  must  not  Block  up  the  stars  when  Mr 
Glover  coms. 

The  death  of  Mrs.  Mary  Holyoke,  October  '2Q,  1657,  may  be  called 
a  sad  sequel  of  her  father's  practical  banishment.  Her  sister,  Mrs. 
Henry  Smith,  as  we  have  seen,  finall}^  went  crazy,  but  whether  as  a 
result  of  her  father's  persecution  is  not  known.  John  Pynchon  was 
called  to  England  in  1664  by  the  death  of  William  Pynchon,  which 
took  place  at  Wraisbury,  October  29,  1662.  His  body  was  not 
carried  to  Writtle,  where  many  of  his  family  are  buried,  but  he  lies  in 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6. 


145 


the  church-yard  at  Wraisbury,  an  interior  of  whose  church  is  given 
in  the  accompanying  illustration.     When  ^Yilliam  Pynchon  returned 


Interior  of  the  Church  where  ^VILLIAM  Pynchon  is 
Buried. 


to  England  ten  years  before,  Oliver  Cromwell  was  at  the  head  of 
affairs,  and  Mr.  Pynchon  sank  into  his  grave  just  after  the  merry 
King  Charles  II.  had  set  at  work  undoing  the  work  of  the  Revolution. 
John  Pynchon' s  estate  was  materially  enlarged  by  his  father's  will, 
and  he  himself,  in  November,  1663,  made  a  will,  before  sailing  for 


146 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1S86. 


England,  in  which  he  speaks  of  his  warehouses  at  Boston,  his  wharf, 
and  land  adjoining.  He  found  upon  reaching  Wraisbury  that  his 
father  had  left  him  several  hundred  acres  of  land  besides  much  per- 
sonal property.  But  John  Pynchon  Avas  a  rich  man  for  those  times 
before  this  enlargement  of  his  estate. 

In  about  1659  John  Pynchon  had  planned  to  build  the  finest  house 
in  New  England  outside  of  Boston.  He  made  it  at  once  a  garrison, 
a  residence,  and  a  court-house.  He  bargained  with  Francis  Hack- 
lington,  a  Northampton  man,  for  the  brick,  —  in  all  50,000,  for 
which  he  paid  a  little  over  $2,000.  This  building  was  probably  com- 
pleted in  1661,  and  was  situated  where  Fort  street  now  is.  It  was 
the  most  important  structure  in  this  valle}^  for  man}^  years,  and  re- 
mained a  historic  landmark  on  our  Main  street  until  well  into  the 
present  centur}",  when  it  was  pulled  down  in  spite  of  ardent  protests, 
and  for  no  good  reason  that  business  or  propriety  can  suggest  to  us. 


The  Old  Pynchon  "Fort"  or  Residence. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

1674-1076. 

The  Indian  Situation.— Puritan  View  of  the  Savage.  — The  Agawams.  — English  Laws 
for  the  Natives.  —  Indian  Mortgage  Deeds. —  An  Appeal  to  Boston.  — The  Origin  of 
Slavery  in  New  England.  —Perfecting  Title  to  the  Land.  —  King  Philip's  War.  —The 
Attack  upon  Brookfield.  —Lieutenant  Cooper  sent  forward  from  Springfield.  —Beers, 
Lathrop,  Mosely,  and  Treat  march  to  the  Rescue  of  the  Connecticut  Valley  Towns.  — 
The  Swamp  Fight.—  Death  of  Beers. —Bloody  Brook.  —  Pynchon's  Protest  to  the 
Commissioners.  —The  Indian  Fort  at  Springfield.  —  The  Town  burned  by  King  Philip. 
—  Pynchon's  Hasty  Ride  from  Hadley.  —  Death  of  Cooper  and  Miller. —Captain 
Appleton  in  Command.  —  Trouble  about  Military  Authority. —Winter,  —  Death  of 
Elizur  Holyoke  and  Selectman  Keep.  — The  Fight  at  Turner's  Falls. —Heroism  of 
Samuel  Holyoke.  —  King  Philip's  Death. 

For  forty  years  Springfield  was  happily  free  from  the  scenes  of 
fire  and  blood  that  usually  attend  the  occupancy  of  a  savage  wilder- 
ness. If  we  have  read  the  town's  story  aright,  there  was  reason  for 
this  exceptionally  good  fortune.  The  first  planters  never  occupied  a 
foot  of  ground  without  paying  for  it,  and  the  Pynchon  rule  of  even 
justice  toward  the  Indian  was  known  to  the  tribes  hundreds  of  miles 
away.  The  Pynchons  were  famed  in  all  the  wigwams  from  Quabaug 
to  the  Mohawk  country  for  their  justice  and  fair  play.  The  Indians 
often  brought  their  disputes  to  Springfield  for  settlement,  and  they 
were  justly  dealt  with,  even  when  the  authorities  in  Connecticut  and 
down  at  the  Bay  were  antagonized. 

Looking  at  the  question  broadly,  it  will  baffle  philosophy  itself  to 
analyze  the  workings  of  the  Puritan  mind  when  confronted  by  the 
savage  ;  but  what  can  be  said  of  the  results  of  the  contact  of  English, 
Indian,  and  negro?  The  subject  seemed  of  little  moment  in  those 
days,  but,  measured  by  the  result,  is  of  vital  importance.     The  very 


148  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-ISS6. 

charter  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  colony  imposed  upon  the  incorpo- 
rators the  duty  of  extinguishing  the  Indian  title  and  making  the 
native  a  convert  to  the  gospel.  The  general  sense  of  the  early  set- 
tlers was  that  the  Indians  should  receive  fair  treatment ;  and  in  a  de- 
gree the}^  did.  At  the  same  time  we  see  in  the  Puritans  from  the 
start  an  insidious  element  working  against  the  native.  The  Puritans 
did  not  flee  from  sin  ;  the}^  hated,  pursued,  and  fought  it ;  the  heathen 
were  children  of  sin,  and  the  Indians,  heathen.  This  is  the  simple 
chain  of  unconscious  logic  that  prevailed  in  New  England. 

The  inevitable  tendency  of  a  strong  race  to  make  headway  against 
an  inferior  one  was  apparent  right  here  in  Springfield.  William 
Pynchon  soon  found,  in  dealing  with  the  Indians,  that  they  were  lazy, 
unreliable,  and  quick  to  take  offence.  Their  vengeful  disposition, 
coupled  with  their  secretive  ways  and  their  long  memor}^  of  slights, 
soon  caused  P^^nchon  to  avoid  employing  them  as  much  as  possible. 
He  even  refused  to  use  them  as  messengers  and  scouts,  when  white 
troopers  were  within  call.  Indians  would  loiter  b}^  the  way,  and 
were  not  above  breaking  their  word.  Nor  did  they  come  up  to  the 
English  standard  of  personal  tidiness  ;  if  they  had  not  been  probed 
b}^  the  sharp  rod  of  the  white  man's  law,  the}^  would  have  been  con- 
tent to  stroll  about  these  streets  and  live  off  alms  at  the  back  doors 
of  this  plantation.  Our  Agawams  and  our  Woronocos,  like  all  the 
Algonquin  tribes,  were  accustomed  to  subjugation.  They  gave  tribute 
to  the  Six  Nations,  and  no  doubt  looked  upon  the  whites  as  a  relief, 
and  they  preferred  to  pay  out  their  wam[)um  to  a  race  more  worthy  of 
it.  The  Agawams  were  numerically  inferior  to  the  Pocomtucks  at 
Deerfield,  who  were  the  leaders  of  the  local  tribes. 

The  English  regard  for  the  Indian,  therefore,  was  the  regard  of  the 
strong  for  the  weak,  the  shiftless,  and  the  unreliable.  The  red  man 
of  the  forest,  in  whose  richly  bronzed  bosom  beat  all  the  nobility 
God  ever  breathed  into  a  hero,  did  not  reside  in  Springfield,  at  least 
in  the  seventeenth  century. 

We  have  seen  in  the  deeds  executed  and  signed  by  Indians  and  in 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  149 

the  records  of  the  town-meethigs,  that  while  the  natives  retained 
sundry  hunting  and  fishing  privileges  they  were  continually  brought 
under  restrictions  in  tlieir  personal  movements. 

The  following  hnportant  deed,  secured  in  1652,  furnishes  an 
instance  in  point :  — 

This  Indenture  made  tlie  fourteenth  Day  of  April :  1(552  :  between  Coe  (or) 
Coa.  one  of  the  Indians  of  Agawani,  who  is  the  clieife  &  y*^  proper  owner  of  al 
the  Land  below  the  Long  medow  brooke,  in  the  East  side  of  Quinnecticot  River, 
down  to  the  Falls,  on  the  one  party,  And  John  Pynchon  of  Springfeild  on  the 
other  party  Witnesseth  that  the  s'l  Coe  the  Indian,  for  &  in  consideration  of  one 
broad  Essex  shag  Coote  of  1.  yard  &  3  quarters  &  more  to  him  in  hand  paid, 
liath  bagained,  sold  &  granted,  &  by  these  p'"sents  doth  sel  give  &  grant  to  the 
said  John  Pynchon  a  certaine  parcel  of  wet  medow  upon  the  head  of  a  River, 
Running  into  the  great  River,  above  the  fals,  comonly  called  by  the  English 
Freshwater  River  which  River  is  by  the  Indians  called  Asnuntick  at  y^'  mouth  of 
it  &  a  little  higher  Is  called  Allows,  &  at  the  head  of  said  River  is  called  Sick- 
compsqu,  where  the  said  Avet  medow  lyes,  the  which  medow  is  called  by  the 
Name  of  Quellicksqu. 

Also  the  said  Coe  doth  sel  give  &  grant  free  &  ful  Liberty  for  the  English  to 
gather  &  make  use  of  Candlewood,  called  by  y'"  weakshackquock,  in  all  the 
grounds  adjoining  thereto,  &  from  the  Long  medow  brooke  downward,  &  also 
free  Liberty  for  Cattle  to  feed  fro  the  spring  til  winter,  in  al  the  s^  grounds,  for 
&  in  consideration  of  one  yard  3  quarters  of  Red  Essex  shag  cloth  to  him  by 
the  s'^  John  Pynchon  in  hand  paid  :  Al  the  s'^  p'"niises  y*-'  s'^  Coe  doth  Condition  as 
the  True  owner  that  the  said  John  Pynchen  shall  absolutely  clearly  &  for  ever 
enjoy  al  the  said  p'mises,  to  him  his  lieires  and  assignees  for  ever.  Submitted, 
this  Uth  of  April,  1652. 

The  notable  point  in  this  deed  is  the  privileges  granted  the  P^nglish 
in  regions  still  held  by  the  Indians,  who  were  thus  establishing  prece- 
dents dangerous  to  their  interests. 

Among  the  many  innovations  which  English  rule  brought  about 
was  the  gradual  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  in  form  at  least,  b}^  the 
Indians.  In  1(369  the  County  Court  had  occasion  to  admonish  a  con- 
stable for  roughly  handling  some  Indians  found  abroad  upon  the 
Lord's  day  :  — 


150  SrRrXGFIF.LD,    1636-1886. 

Certayne  Indians  being  found  at  Worronoco  travelling  on  y^  Sabbath  &  carry- 
ing burdens,  vizt  bringing  apples  wci^  they  said  they  had  from  Windsor  &  OAvn 
shooting  a  Gun  when  he  came  to  the  house  there,  the  Constable  there  seized  4 
guns  &  one  of  them  called  (name  omitted)  to  appear  at  this  Court  to  answer  the 
offense.  The  w^h  being  prooved  &  owned  the  Courte  judges  the  Constable 
striking  the  Indian  and  the  dog  biting  him  he  should  be  only  admonished. 

There  was  no  end  of  trouble  in  keeping  savage  bauds  off  from 
portable  property.  They  wouhl  dodge  into  Idtchens  and  steal  food, 
cider,  and  any  articles  in  reach,  and  they  would  also  run  off  cattle. 
In  1668  it  was  recorded  in  the  County  Court  that  "  Whereas  the  In- 
diaus  called  INIagnaws  made  Spoyle  among  the  Cattell  or  swine  of 
these  3  Townes  of  the  county  neere  about  2  yeere  synce  And  there 
being  gayned  from  those  Indians  20£  w"^''  being  sent  to  ]M^  Bryan  is 
in  y^  hands  of  Lyman  Lolxlell  of  Springfeild  in  Leather,"  it  was  or- 
dered that  this  sum  l)e  distributed.  Springfield  parties  received  £5  of 
this. 

The  selling  of  liquor  to  the  Indians  was  strictly  forbidden  ;  but  the 
natives  were  continually  securing  drink  on  the  sl}^,  and  this  class  of 
cases  was  very  common  before  the  magistrates.  Indians  were  some- 
times put  under  bonds  to  keep  away  from  liquor,  wampum  being  de- 
posited as  security. 

The  mill  of  Preserved  Turner  was  robbed  in  about  1664,  and  the 
Indian  AVenawen  was  caught  and  put  under  bonds,  a  companion 
named  Sopos  and  another  Indian  l)ecoming  his  sureties.  At  the  next 
court,  in  1665,  Wenawen  did  not  appear,  and  the  propert}^  of  the 
bondsmen  was  levied  upon  for  406'.  each. 

There  was  given  the  Indians,  in  1666,  a  conviucnig  proof  of  the 
sense  of  justice  among  the  whites.  The  town  paid  fifty  fathom  of 
wampum  to  satisfy  a  claim  set  forth  in  an  ancient  document,  which 
opens  as  follows  :  — 

This  writing  witnesseth  That  Xeesahegan  alias  Squomseat  &  Kepaquomp  alias 
Squinnamoh  for  themselves,  &  in  behalfe  of  an  old  woman  called  Potucksisg  af- 
firming, that  the  English  at  Springfeild  never  bought  tlie  Lands  over  Agawam 


SrRJXGFIELD,    1636-1SS6.  151 

River  in  the  higher  medoAvs,  that  is  to  say.  the  Lands  between  the  middle  medow, 
&  so  round  the  lulls,  fro  that  pond  by  tlie  uudle  medow  to  Ensigne  Coopers 
House,  &  so  to  Agawam  River,  &  yet  acknowledging  that  the  midle  medow  & 
house  medow  called  Quana  &  Agawam,  Avere  Long  since  bought  by  the  English; 
etc. 

The  first  laud  transaction  with  the  Indians  was  carried  on  by  a 
committee  or  agent  for  the  town,  as  lias  been  noticed  bat  eventnall}' 
private  parties  secured  the  Indian  titles  directly  from  tlie  natives. 
This  was  a  long  step  forward,  and  clearly  contrary  to  public  policy. 
The  occasion  of  these  private  transfers  was  the  habit  of  running  in 
debt  among  the  Indians.  They  were  not  satisfied  with  their  arrows 
after  they  had  seen  the  blunderbuss,  and  while  the  lending  of  flint- 
locks or  snaphances,  like  the  selling  of  fire-water,  to  the  Indians  was 
prohibited,  it  did  not  break  up  the  practice.  The}^  also  secured 
blankets,  food,  and  agricultural  tools  on  credit  often,  and  thus  the 
mortgage  sj^stem  grew  up  as  naturally  as  garden  weeds  after  a  rain. 
The  Indians  also  hired  the  English  to  plow  their  planting-grounds, 
and  sometimes  planted  English  land  on  shares. 

To  meet  these  obligations  security  was  demanded.  A  very  in- 
teresting specimen  of  this  is  found  in  our  probate  records,  inider  date 
of  April  2,  1661.  A  mortgage  was  made  by  Coa,  Menis,  Cuttonus, 
and  other  Indians,  who  figure  in  our  first  Indian  deed  to  William 
Pynchon  and  his  associates,  and  is  made  out  to  that  active  land  spec- 
ulator, Samuel  Marshfield.  The  mortgage  which  is  here  given  was 
duly  approved  by  the  selectmen,  however  :  — 

Severall  debts  wch^vee  owe  Samuil  ^Larshfield  for  goods  already  received  avcIi 
Avee  did  ingage  to  pay  in  bever,  &  we  doe  still  ingage  to  doe  the  same  if  Ave  can 
gett  it,  any  tyme  this  summer,  or  else  Ave  soe  ingage  to  pay  him  in  Corne  at  2s 
per  bush  by  lieape  or  if  in  Avampum,  then  to  alloAv  the  said  Samuell  six  fathom 
for  every  five  fathom  due  unto  him,  or  if  Ave  can  gett  mooseskins  or  otter  or  good 
deare  skins,  then  to  pay  them  unto  him  at  a  reasonable  rate,  or  guns  av^'^  the  fore 
said  Samuell  hath  in  his  hands,  av^''  if  he  doe  Lend  to  any  of  us,  Avee  ingage  to 
return  them  to  Him  Avhen  he  shall  call  for  them  :  and  if  Ave  doe  not  pay  the 
aforesaid  Samuell  in  any  of  these  prises,  to  his  coutent  by  Michelmas  next  en- 


152  SPRIXGFIELD,    1636~18S6. 

suing  the  date  thereof,  then  we  give  the  aforesaid  Samuel  full  power  to  ceaze  on 
all  our  lands  &  corne  as  his  proper  right,  and  if  that  we  Indians  Avhose  Names 
are  above  Avritten,  doe  ingage  that  if  wee  &  the  aforesaid  Samuel  cannot  aggree 
about  the  price  of  any  of  the  aforementioned  pay,  then  wee  will  stand  to  av* 
Captayne  Pynclion,   8c  Lieutenante  Holyoke  sliall  appoynt.    ^ 

Cuttonus  figured  occasionally  in  the  records.  He  Avas  fined  in  1660 
for  not  keeping  up  his  "  water  fence."  He  owned  lands  on  the  west 
side  of  the  "  Greate  Ryver,"  and  had  previously  sold  some  planting- 
grounds  to  Ensign  Cooper,  who,  the  year  following  the  above  mort- 
gage, secured  a  record  of  this  transaction.  Cooper  had  himself  ob- 
tained Indian  lands  by  the  foreclosure  process.  He  had  taken  from 
a  Woronoco  Indian,  named  Amoacusseu,  a  mortgage  in  1660,  and  in 
1664  he  received  an  absolute  deed  npon  the  Indian's  failure  to  pay. 
John  Pynchon  also  foreclosed,  in  1666,  upon  a  large  tract  of  land  in 
Woronoco,  mortgaged  by  an  Indian  and  his  squaw.  Mr.  Cooper  was 
before  the  General  Court  in  reference  to  the  Amoacussen  transaction. 
It  was  claimed  by  Allignot,  Neemp,  and  AVallump,  sachems  of 
^'Pochosick  near  AVestfield,"  that  Amoacussen  was  not  the  sole 
owner  of  the  lands  deeded  to  Cooper.  These  Indians  appealed,  as 
they  had  a  right  to  do,  to  Boston,  and  the  General  Court  referred  the 
case  to  the  Hampshire  County  Court,  which  compelled  Cooper  to 
give  the  sachems  due  satisfaction.  It  cost  Cooper  one  hundred  and 
ten  fathom  of  wampum  to  get  out  of  this  scrape  ;  but  he  doubtless 
made   money  even  at  that. 

We  transcribe  the  following  deed  of  Westfield  land  :  — 

These  present  Avritings  Dated  September  the  29th  in  the  yeere  One  six  hundred 
Sixty-ffiA'e  showeth  y'  Avee  Spanosa  &  Poxonock  both  of  us  joyntly  &  seA-eraly 
haA'e  upon  a  A-alluable  consideration  to  us  secured  &  by  these  presents  doe  alien- 
ate &  Sell  unto  Daniell  Clark  &  Samuel  Marshall  of  AVindsor  their  heirs  &  as- 
signes  one  pcell  of  meddoAv  Land  lying  at  Woronoco  on  y^'  South  Side  of  y^ 
RiA-er  part  Arhereof  hath  been  already  planted  avcI»  pcell  of  MeddoAv  is  in  quantity 
fforty  acres,  such  pcell  of  meddoAv  Land,  it  shall  be  LaAvfull  for  the  Said  Daniell 
&  Samuel  their  heirs  &  assigns  to  enjoy  &  possess  &  inheritt  forcA^er.      And  for 


SPRINGFIELD,     2636-J8S6.  153 


tlie  more  full  assurance  of  the  said  Land  unto  y<^  Said  psons  wee  the  Grauntors 
doe  hereby  morgage  or  fully  engage  that  if  we  make  not  the  title  of  the  Land 
good  to  these  two  grantees,  then  Samuell  Marshall  is  to  have  our  little  Daughter 
now  about  ffonre  yeares  old  to  enjoy  her  cj-  dispose  of  her  as  his  own  estate.  And 
w  ee  the  Said  Grantors  doe  hereby  promise  &  oblige  our  selves  unto  the  said 
Grantees  that  when  we  be  minded  to  make  Sale  of  the  other  of  our  Land  at 
Worronoco  they  the  said  Grantees  shall  have  the  right  tending  to  them  to  take  or 
refuse  uppon  such  termes  as  we  shall  aggree  unto. 

The  following  entry  is  found  in  the  records  of  the  County  Court 
held  at  Springfield  in  September,  1665  :  — 

There  being  presented  unto  y^  Gen-'  Court  at  Boston  in  May  last  a  Petition  to 
consider  of  the  complaynts  of  the  Indians  of  Springfeild  agt  Samll  Marshfeild 
who  hath  gotten  the  lands  of  the  Indians  into  his  hands  by  virtue  of  a  deed  of 
mortgage  from  y''  Indians  Avhereby  they  are  impovished  haveing  little  or  nothing 
left  to  plant  but  are  constrayned  to  hire  of  ye  English  &  The  said  Gen^^  Courte 
referred  the  said  business  of  y^  Indians  complt  to  y^  County  Court  of  this  shire , 
This  Court  therefore  upon  agitation  of  the  business  advised  Samuel  Marshfeild 
&  the  Indians  to  accord  amongst  themselves  &  also  advised  the  said  Samuell  for 
ye  making  of  fynall  issue  of  all  complaynts  &  trouble  from  y^  Indians  about  the 
Land  that  he  hath  of  them  to  allow  the  said  Indians  some  of  the  Land  w^h  before 
y^  Courte  he  manifested  himselfe  Avilling  to  doe  : 

Whereupon  the  Courte  appoynted  John  Dumbleton  &  Miles  Morgan  to  go 
OA-er  ye  River  with  Samll  Marshfeild  &  the  Indians  to  see  w*  land  the  said  Samuell 
Marshfeild  Avould  allow  &  how  far  it  might  be  to  y^  satisfaction  of  y^  Indians  : 

And  the  said  Persons  returning  w^^  y^  Indians  to  y^  Courte  they  made  report 
yt  Samuell  Marshfield  according  to  y*"  Indians  desire  shewed  the  Indians  where 
ihey  should  have  fifteen  acres  of  land  to  themselves  for  ever :  that  is  to  say 
twelve  acres  in  one  place  &  three  acres  in  another  place  :  And  the  Judges  ex- 
pressed themselves  Avell  satisfied  thereAvith. 

It  will  be  asked  whether  Mr.  Marshall  would  have  held  the  Indian 
girl  in  slavery  in  case  he  had  been  compelled  to  insist  upon  the  bond 
as  indicated  by  the  instrument  as  executed  in  September,  1665.  Most 
certainly,  but  he  would  not  necessarily  have  kept  her  as  a  bond-ser- 
vant in  his  family.     Indians  became  slaves  in  New  England,  it  would 


l'')4  SPRIXGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


seem,  in  three  ways,  —  through  life  sentences  for  crimes,  through 
captivity  in  war,  and  through  legal  process  as  security  for  loans,  as 
above  shown.  The  Pequot  war  seems  to  have  led  directly  to  slavery. 
Merchants  sent  captive  Indian  maidens  and  boys  to  the  West  Indies 
or  Africa  and  traded  them  off  for  negroes. 

AVe  now  have  the  necessary  facts  of  the  coming  together  of  the 
three  races,  and  the  enlargement  of  one  at  the  expense  of  the  other 
two.  New  England  practised  negro  slavery  Ijy  and  through  its  own- 
ership in  Indian  flesh  and  blood,  and  Springfield  shares  in  the  unen- 
viable distinction  of  contributing  to  its  extension. 

The  claim  to  the  land  was  still  in  many  points  defective,  and  the 
"worshipful  major,"  with  his  usual  business  thrift,  made  haste  to 
perfect  tlie  title.     The  tract  bounded  on  the  south  by  an  east  line  at 
Freshwater  river,  near  Enfield  Falls,   on  the  east  by  the  mountains, 
on  the  north  by  the  Chicopee  river,  and  on  the  west  by  a  line  running 
through  the  Five-Mile  pond,  was  considered  at  this  early  day  a  part 
of  the  town  ;  but  the  Indians  refused  to  admit  the  claim,  and  calculated 
upon  a  liberal  payment  of  wampum  therefor.    The  land  in  dispute  was 
claimed  by  Wequogan,  Wawapaw,  and  Wecombo.    After  a  good  deal 
of  trouble   Mr.  Pynchon   assembled  these  Indians,   probably  in  his 
garrison-house  on   the  main  street,  and   succeeded  in  negotiating  a 
sale,  there  being  also  present  Ehzur  Holyoke,  George  Colton,  Benja- 
min Cooley,  Samuel  Marshfield,  and   Anthony  Dorchester,  the  town 
committee  authorized  to  receive   the  Indian   deed.     There  had  been 
many  informal  meetings,  and  apparently  a  good   deal  of  dickering, 
the  Indians  proving  apt  scholars  in  the  science  of  making  bargains. 
The  price  fixed  upon  was  one  hundred  and  eighty  fathoms  of  wam- 
pum, and  it  was  left  to  Mr.  Pynchon  to  draw  the  deed  and  deliver 
the  money.     This  he  did  ;  but  curiously  enough  he  delivered  the  wam 
pum  before  the  deeds  were  signed,  tlius  breaking  his  revered  father's 
rule,  and  by  this  means  getting  into  trouble.     The  Indians  came  to 
him  one  by  one  to  affix  their  marks  to  the  instrument,  but  ]Mr.  Pyn- 
chon followed  an  ancient  custom  calculated  to  impress  upon  the  sav- 


SPRIXGFIELD,    1636-1886.  155 


age  mind  the  solemnity  of  the  act,  and  refused  to  allow  them  to  sign 
separately,  insisting  that  they  should  come  in  a  group.  Thus  mat- 
ters drifted  on  through  the  whole  year,  and  in  fact  until  the  spring 
of  1675,  when  the  plantation  entered  upon  a  terrible  chapter  in  its 
history.  The  Indians  never  signed  the  deed,  and  this  strip  of  farm- 
ing land  has  never  been  technically  relieved  of  its  Indian  claim.  The 
title  may  not  be  called  clouded,  but  it  rests  upon  Mr.  Pynchon's  oath, 
made  in  1678,  declaring  that  while  the  Indians  never  signed  the  deed, 
they  showed  a  '^  readiness  to  come  altogether  &  subscribe." 

Springfield  was  now  about  forty  years  old.  Many  of  the  first  set- 
tlers had  passed  away.  The  children  had  grown  up  and  assumed 
public  burdens.  Rev.  Mr.  Glover,  a  man  of  great  energy  and  stu- 
dious application,  had  contributed  materially  in  the  direction  of  the 
town's  activities.  There  were  scores  of  Agawam  Indians  Avho  had 
never  put  on  war-paint  nor  remembered  the  time  when  the  whites  had 
not  dwelt  here.  They  had  prattled  in  the  door-yards  of  the  white 
man,  had  followed  the  deer  and  elk,  and  trapped  beaver  with  them, 
had  planted  and  harvested  with  them,  and  had  come  to  look  upon  our 
people  as  just,  humane,  and  friendlike.  The  feeling  of  trust  among 
the  whites  was  quite  as  deep-seated.  One  generation  had  grown  up 
and  another  started,  and  no  outbreak  had  disturbed  the  cordial  rela- 
tions of  the  two  races. 

It  is  therefore  not  to  be  wondered  at  when  the  Pokanoket  country 
became  disturbed,  and  the  ambitious  and  treacherous  King  Philip 
undertook  to  stampede  the  New  England  tribes  into  a  war  of  ex- 
termination, that  the  local  plantation  had  little  fear  that  the  Aga- 
wams  and  the  Woronocos  would  listen  to  him.  This  cordial  feeling 
had  even  led  some  squaws  of  Nonotuck  to  divulge  the  secret  that 
Springfield  was  to  be  attacked,  but  the  same  feelmg  prevented  the 
whites  from  believing  it.  The  Indians  up  the  river  —  so  John  Win- 
throp,  Jr.,  tells  us  — had  ''  assured  Major  Pynchen  of  their  fidelity 
to  the  English." 

The  Indian  situation  m  Massachusetts  in   1675  needs  no  extended 


l-'^'^  SPRINGFIELD,    2636-1886. 


description  of  this  place.  Enough  to  say,  the  gentle-mannered  Lev- 
erett  was  governor.  The  general  worldly  condition  of  the  colonies 
was  good,  and  in  the  main  the  Indians  had  been  bettered  by  their 
contact  with  the  whites  :  but  the  Narragansetts,  Pokanokets,  and 
Mohegans  had  resisted  the  Christian  missionaries.  The  Pokanoket 
sachem,  Massasoit,  had  died  in  1660.  The  Plymouth  authorities 
gave  the  name  Alexander  Pokanoket  to  one  of  his  sons,  and  Philip  to 
the  other.  Alexander  soon  died,  and  Philip  became  sachem  in  1662. 
His  suspicious  actions,  indicating  hostility  to  the  English,  resulted  in 
his  enforced  signature  to  a  document  acknowledging  that  he  was  a 
subject  of  the  English  king.  King  Philip  was  a  natural  leader  and 
good  fighter,  in  whom  distrust  of  the  English,  however,  was  deeper 
than  his  word  given  under  duress.  He  was  repeatedly  forced  to  sign 
pacific  treaties  with  the  English,  but  this  never  obliterated  the  English 
fear  of  him.  In  1674  Sausamon,  a  praying  Indian,  made  definite 
charges  of  treason  against  King  Philip.  In  June  of  the  following 
year  Sausamon  was  murdered,  and  three  Indians  executed  for  the 
crime.  Philip  kept  himself  constantly  armed,  and  the  forests  were 
filled  with  his  runners.  In  June,  1675,  he  partially  burnt  and  plun- 
dered Swanzey.  While  forced  to  evacuate  Mount  Hope,  he  was  able 
to  send  bands  to  plunder  the  Plymouth  towns.  The  English  secured 
an  alliance  with  the  Narragansetts  and  Mohegans.  Philip  made  a 
dash  for  the  Nipmuck  country.  On  August  3,  by  the  light  of  the 
moon,  the  Nipmucks  set  fire  to  a  fortified  house  atBrookfield,  the  only 
settlement  between  the  Connecticut  river  and  Lancaster.  This  mode 
of  attack  the  English  had  taught  them  in  the  Pequot  war.  Arrows 
with  burning  brands  as  well  as  fireballs  were  thrown  upon  the  roof,  but 
quickly  extinguished.  The  house  was  besieged  for  three  days,  when 
it  was  relieved  by  a  company  of  troopers  from  the  east,  conmianded 
by  the  white-haired  Major  Simon  Willard.  Philip  arrived  just  as  the 
Nipmucks  had  been  driven  back  from  Brookfield,  and  he  refreshed 
their  tired  spirits  by  presenting  the  sagamores  a  peck  of  wampum. 
When  the   Nonotuck    (Northampton)    Indians,  who  were   connected 


SPRIXGFIELD,    1636-1SS6.  157 

with  the  Nipmucks  by  marriage,  heard  of  the  Quabaug  fight,  they  gave 
^'  eleven  triumphant  shouts  "  for  the  number  of  the  English  killed. 

The  moment  the  news  of  the  attack  upon  Quabaug  reached  Spring- 
field Major  Pynchon  sent  forward  Lieut.  Thomas  Cooper  with 
twenty-seven  horsemen  and  ten  Indians,  reenforced  by  a  company 
from  Hartford,  under  Capt.  Thomas  Watts  ;  but  the  danger  was 
over  before  their  arrival  on  the  7th.  After  scouring  the  surrounding 
country  Cooper  returned  to  Springfield  three  days  later.  Willard 
pressed  on  to  Hadley,  which  had  been  selected  as  the  head-quarters  of 
the  English  commander,  and  after  a  stay  of  a  fortnight  returned  east. 

Captains  Richard  Beers,  of  Watertown,  Thomas  Lathrop,  of  Ips- 
wich, and  Samuel  Mosely,  of  Boston,  as  Avell  as  Major  Treat,  of 
Milford,  Conn.,  with  some  Mohegan  Indians,  were  hurried  towards  the 
Massachusetts  towns  in  the  Connecticut  valley.  Beers  and  Lathrop 
made  a  stop  at  Brookfield,  and  Pynchon  sent  Lieut.  Samuel  Wright 
to  hold  Xorthfield.  The  whole  country  was  searched  for  Indians  to 
no  purpose.  The  Indians,  in  their  fort  a  little  below  Hatfield,  towards 
Northampton,  caused  great  uneasiness.     They  were  in  a  sullen  mood. 

Watts,  Lathrop,  and  Beers  had  massed  their  men  at  Hatfield  on  the 
23d,  and,  perceiving  the  temper  of  the  Indians,  had  demanded  a  sur- 
render of  their  arms.  Night  came  on  before  anything  was  done  beyond 
hurried  negotiations.  Deep  in  the  night  an  order  was  sent  to  North- 
ampton for  a  force  to  cut  off  the  Indians  if  they  escaped  in  that  di- 
rection, while  the  Hatfield  men  were  to  watch  the  northern  approaches 
to  the  fort.  The  Indians  meantime  had  been  holding  a  powwow  ;  the 
young  warriors  were  for  war ;  there  was  no  time  for  deliberation. 
An  aged  sachem  opposed  war.  He  was  struck  dead  in  his  tracks,  and 
the  whole  party  made  a  dash  for  the  forests  ;  they  hastened  north 
before  daybreak,  and  the  dreadful  valle}^  campaign  opened.  Lathrod 
and  Beers  hotly  pursued  the  fugitives,  and  on  the  "ioth  engaged  them 
in  battle  in  a  swamp  in  the  town  of  Hadley  and  drove  them  back, 
losing  nine  men,  and  killing  about  twenty-five. 

It  was  six  days  later,  accordins;  to  a  tradition  in  Governor  Leverett's 


158  SmrNGFIELD,    1636-I8S6. 

family,  that  an  attack  upon  Haclle}^  took  place  during  meeting-time, 
when  the  outlawed  regicide,  Colonel  Gotfe,  emerged  from  his  hiding- 
place,  gave  the  alarm,  and  led  the  men  to  battle  and  victory.  The 
incident  was  used  by  Sir  Walter  Scott,  but  is  now  discredited,  owing 
to  the  investigations  of  George  Sheldon,  of  Deerfield. 

Northampton,  Hatfield,  Deerfield,  and  Northfield  were  hastily  garri- 
soned. September  had  opened  in  blood,  as  has  been  noted,  with  attacks 
upon  Hadley  and  Deerfield.  Captain  Beers  fell  dead,  with  twenty-one 
of  his  men,  near  Northfield,  September  4,  while  attempting  to  relieve 
that  place.  The  Indians  lost  twenty-five,  but  the  survivors  became 
drunk  from  the  rum  found  in  one  of  the  English  casks.  ]Major 
Treat,  at  Hadley,  who  had  sent  Beers  to  the  north  w^ith  an  in- 
adequate force,  burdened  with  an  ox-team,  to  carry  away  the  effects 
at  Northfield,  hastened  forward  with  one  hundred  men,  September  5. 
As  the}'  approached  Squakheag  (Northfield)  they  discovered  a 
range  of  twenty  high  poles,  on  which  were  stuck  the  ghastly 
heads  of  the  Beers  party.  After  the  Indians  had  drunk  liberall}^ 
of  the  rum  found  in  the  ox-cart  they  phmged  into  a  perfect  death 
revel,  even  to  burning  two  or  three  at  the  stake  and  hanging  a  man 
alive  to  a  tree,  with  a  chain  hook  caught  in  his  jaw.  We  have  it  on 
good  authority  that  this  disaster  provoked  in  the  minds  of  the  strug- 
gling yeomen  of  that  time  not  so  much  the  instant  vows  of  revenge 
common  to  poor  human  nature,  as  a  fear  that  the  hand  of  God  had 
set  up  these  bloody  impalements  as  a  warning  to  the  people  to  turn 
aw^ay  from  pride  of  rich  dress  and  long  hair  and  the  frivolities  of  a 
sinful  world. 

Treat  pushed  on  and  brought  away  the  terrified  families  from 
Northfield,  and  upon  the  return  was  met  by  Captain  Appleton.  There 
was  a  small  force  at  this  time,  at  Deerfield,  under  the  command  of 
Captain  Mosely,  and  Lathrop,  with  ninety  of  the  best  fighters,  was  sent 
up  there  to  thresh  and  bring  away  the  grain.  The  savages,  fully 
aware  of  the  importance  of  this  supply  of  grain,  gathered  their  forces 
in   the    vicinity,  and    upon  the  morning  of  September  18  the  supply 


SPRINGFIELD,    1GSG-ISS6.  159 


train  started  for  Hadle}^.  Lathrop  seemed  to  think  that  his  Essex 
troopers  were  equal  to  any  emergency  which  the  savages  might  pre- 
cipitate. In  crossing  a  brook  in  South  Deerfield  the  soldiers  were 
attracted  by  some  wild  grapes,  and  at  this  unguarded  moment  600 
savages  made  a  murderous  attack.  An  ancient  oil  painting  of  this 
event  represents  the  soldiers  in  the  trees  gathering  the  wild  grapes, 
their  guns  having  been  put  aside.  The  short  story  of  that  day  is  one 
of  the  most  revolting  in  our  valley  history.  Barely  seven  men  es- 
caped. Mosely  hastened  on  from  Deerfield  ;  Treat,  with  150  soldiers 
and  Indians,  arrived  later  in  the  day  and  drove  away  the  savages 
from  this  dreadful  slaughter-place.  The  bodies  of  these  men,  includ- 
ing Lathrop,  were  buried  the  next  day  on  the  bank  of  the  brook 
w^here  they  fell,  and  the  murmuring  waters  of  ''  Bloody  Brook"  still 
tell  the  grim  story  of  that  day  of  death  Avhich  sent  a  piteous  cry  to 
heaven  from  every  town  in  New  England. 

Northfield  and  Deerfield  had  been  extinguished  and  128  lives 
taken  within  two  months.  Almost  a  panic  prevailed  in  the  valley. 
While  King  Philip  nowhere  showed  himself  in  battle,  his  cunning  hand 
was  felt.  His  runners  kept  him  well  informed  of  the  movements  of 
the  whites,  and  his  own  forces  moved  in  comparative  obscurity. 

It  is  difficult  to  tell  how  much  military  authority  Major  Pynchon 
had  at  this  time,  although  he  was  nominally  in  command.  The 
United  Colonies  commissioners  seemed  to  think  it  was  their  province 
to  give  minute  directions  as  to  the  defence  of  the  valley.  After  the 
Bloody  Brook  fight  the  commissioners  renewed  the  order  that  the 
army  be  kept  together,  even  if  some  towns  were  left  ungarrisoned. 

Pynchon  did  not  approve  of  this,  but  was  unable  to  meet  the  emer- 
gency as  a  genuine  soldier  might  have  done.  The  game  of  hide-and- 
seek  in  the  wilderness  w^as  just  what  King  Philip  wanted,  and  Pynchon 
knew  it.  He  distrusted  the  friendly  Indians,  and  by  that  time  even 
the  bravest  feared  extermination. 

Pynchon  wrote  to  the  governor  September  8th  in  a  thoroughly  dis- 
turbed state  of  mind.   ' '  Is  the  Lord  about  to  ruin  us  ?  "  he  asks,  ' '  and  to 


160  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


leave  us  to  be  distroyecl  ?  It  is  matter  of  lamentation  ;  some  of  our 
people  speak  of  breaking  up,  and  will  be  gone,  and  discouragements 
enough  are  on  all." 

Meantime  Major  Pynchon's  desire  to  be  relieved  of  the  duties  of  a 
commander-in-chief  took  the  form  of  a  formal  request  to  the  council 
of  Massachusetts  for  a  permission  to  withdraw ;  he  wrote  a  private 
letter  to  Boston  from  Hadley,  September  30,  1675,  in  which  he  said  : 

It  is  to  much  y'  I  should  still  troble  you  wt'*  my  Continued  desires  for  a  rebate 
for  ye  charge  you  have  laid  on  rae  w*^'*  I  am  necessitated  to  doe  y*  y*"  worke 
may  not  miscary  by  so  much  &  unable  a  manager.  It  were  for  better  some  more 
thorough  &  meete  Instrument  were  imployed  in  y^  service  &  I  discharge  upon  y* 
very  acct :  But  besides  (not  to  mention  some  scruples  upon  my  spirit)  The  dis- 
tressed state  of  my  affaires  at  Hom,  y<^*  sorrows  &  afflictions  my  Deare  wife  un- 
dergoes, &  her  continual  calls  to  me  for  releife  &  succor,  slie  being  almost  over- 
whelmed with  greife  &  Troble,  &  in  many  straites  &  pplexitys,  w^h  would  be 
somewhat  holpen  &  alleviated  by  my  presence  there. 

Mr.  Pynchou  had  written  his  more  formal  request  the  day  before, 
and  in  answer  to  this  he  was  relieved  of  his  uiilitary  command  Octo- 
ber 4,  and  Captain  Samuel  Appleton  chosen  as  his  successor.  Before 
this  change  was  announced  at  Hadley  stirring  events  had  taken  place. 

Our  Agawam  Indians  had  up  to  this  time  remained  quietly  in  their 
wigwams  on  the  river-side,  and  in  their  fort  that  overlooked  the 
beautiful  bend  of  the  river.  This  fort  was  situated  upon  what  is 
known  as  the  Storrs  lot,  on  the  old  Long  Hill  road,  below 
Mill  River.  The  owner  of  this  property  sixty  years  ago 
(Chester  Osborne)  named  it  Fort  Pleasant,  and  took  much  interest  in 
identifying  the  Indian  landmarks.  A  little  plateau  on  a  prominent 
spur  of  a  hill,  with  abrupt  declination  shaped  like  a  sharply  truncated 
cone,  afforded  natural  advantages  for  a  fort.  There  is  a  deep  ra- 
vine on  the  south  side,  which  was  probably  the  fortified  approach  to 
the  fort.  Many  stone  arrow-heads  and  hatchets  have  been  found 
in  this   ravine,   and  on  the  plateau  pottery  and   pestles  for  bruising 


SrRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6.  161 

corn  have  been  turned  up  by  the  plough.  It  has  been  assumed  by 
some  that  only  a  part  of  this  plateau  was  included  in  the  fort.  The 
capacity  of  the  fort,  liowever,  was  suflicient  to  shelter  at  least  four 
hundred  Indians,  and  as  the  rule  of  the  Algonquins  was  to  build  a  pali- 
sade of  sufficient  size  to  admit  the  putting  up  of  rows  of  little  round 
wigwams  made  by  concentring  poles,  covered  with  skins  or  bark,  it  is 
fair  to  conclude  that  the  whole  brow  of  this  hill  was  surrounded  by  a 
stockade.  The  neck  joining  it  with  the  main  land  was  but  a  few  rods 
wide,  and  a  living  spring  in  the  ravine  furnished  an  abundant  supply 
of  water.  Upon  the  north  side  of  the  hill  stands  to  this  day  an 
ancient  chestnut-tree.  Its  gnarled  limbs,  hollow  trunk,  and  rugged 
bark  indicate  an  antiquity  quite  sufficient  to  have  been  flourishing  at 
the  time  of  King  Philip's  war.  Artists  have  painted  it,  tourists  have 
climbed  the  hill  to  look  at  it,  and  it  is  withal  a  sacred  though  speech- 
less monument  of  the  local  past. 

The  inhabitants  of  tliis  section  were  now  thoroughly  roused  to  a 
sense  of  danger.  "  Our  English,"  wmte  Major  Pynchon  from  Hadley, 
as  far  back  as  September  30,  "  are  weak  and  fearful  in  scouting  and 
spying,  though  we  do  the  best  we  can."  Two  weeks  before  that  the 
Massachusetts  council,  recognizing  the  danger  of  a  contagious  panic, 
had  written  Major  Willard,  at  Brookfield,  to  ride  over  to  Springfield, 
and  "  give  Major  Pynchon  a  visit  and  encourage  Inm  and  the  people 
in  those  parts."  It  was  only  after  the  whole  valley  was  aroused  that 
any  definite  precautions  were  taken  against  the  Agawams  in  the 
shape  of  hostages,  which  were  exacted  and  sent  to  Hartford  for  safe 
keeping. 

There  were  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  communities  of  praying 
Indians,  who  refrained  from  going  on  the  war-path.  John  Eliot,  in  a 
letter  dated  December  10,  1675,  says  :  "  Another  great  company  of  our 
new  praying  Indians  of  Nipmuck  fled  at  the  beginning  of  the  war, 
first  to  Connecticut,  offered  themselves  to  M'^  Pinchon,  one  of  our 
magistrates,  but  he  (though  willing)  could  not  receive  them.  They 
fled  from  thence  to  Unkas  (who  is  not  in   hostility  to   the   English) 


162  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1S86. 

and  I  hope  they  be  there."     The  Agawams  could  not  be  called  pray- 
ing Indians,  but  faith  in  them  was  quite  as  strong  at  first. 

On  Monday  morning,  October  4,  167;"),  Major  Pynchou,  following 
the  direction  of  the  commissioners,  rode  at  the  head  of  a  company  of 
troopers  to  Hadley,  where  he  proposed,  with  others,  to  arrange  for  a 
hot  pursuit  of  the  enemy.  But  King  Phili[)  was  not  longing  for  a 
pitched  battle.  He  undoubtedly  knew  of  this  move,  and  may  have 
been  waiting  for  it,  as  over  two  weeks  had  passed  in  silence  since  the 
Bloody  Brook  fight. 

But  the  Agawam  Indians  had  been  secretly  prevailed  upon  to  join 
in  the  war  of  extermination.  At  the  dead  of  night  a  large  num- 
ber of  warriors  stole  into  the  fort  of  the  Agawams  on  Long  Hill. 
Historians  doubt  very  much  whether  King  Philip  commanded  this 
expedition  in  person.  Closely  said  at  the  time  that  he  did,  but  upon 
what  evidence  is  not  known.  The  fort  may  have  been  filling  up  for 
some  nights,  or  runners  may  have  brought  the  news  before,  for  some 
Agawams  had  been  down  to  Hartford  and  effected  the  escape  of  the 
hostages  held  there.  Upon  their  way  back  the  word  was  passed 
amOng  the  Indians  that  Springfield  was  doomed.  Toto,  an  Indian 
living  with  a  Windsor  family,  became  agitated  on  the  night  of  the 
4th,  and  the  famil}^  succeeded  in  extracting  from  Ihni  the  terrible 
secret.  It  was  long  after  dark  when  Toto  made  the  confession,  and 
in  post-haste  a  man  was  sent  to  carry  the  news  to  Springfield.  He 
rode  into  town  at  the  dead  of  night,  and  roused  the  inhabitants,  who 
were  doubly  terrified,  the  soldiers  having  gone  off  on  the  Hadley  cam- 
paign. The  alarm  was  sounded  at  every  door  in  the  village.  What 
few  men  there  were  seized  their  guns  and  ammunition,  and  with  all 
haste  escorted  the  women  and  children  to  the  three  garrison-houses 
of  the  place,  which  had  been  recently  repaired  and  fortified.  It  was 
a  night  of  dramatic  consternation.  Among  the  men  known  to  have 
been  in  Springfield  at  that  time  were  the  disabled  Deacon  Chapin, 
Jonathan  Burt,  Rev.  Mr.  Glover,  David  Morgan,  Lieutenant  Cooper, 
and  Thomas  Miller.    Messengers  were  at  once  despatched  to  Pynchou, 


i>;DIA.NS    1  RUM    THE    SxoCKADE    PREPARE    TO    BURN    SPRINGFIELD,    1675. 


164  SPRINGFIELD,    1630-1SS6. 


at  Hadle}',  and  to  Captain  Treat,  then  at  AVestiield.  ]Mr.  Glover 
succeeded  in  transferring  his  ^' brave"  library  to  Mr.  P3'uclion's 
house,  and  Tuesday's  sun  rose  with  a  community  of  empty  houses, — 
all  but  three,  and  those  uncomfortal)ly  full.  With  the  morning  meal, 
and  possibl}'^  soirie  religious  services  in  the  three  forts,  courage  re- 
turned, and  Lieutenant  Cooper  went  so  far  as  to  discredit  Toto  and 
his  frightful  secret.  Mr.  Glover  was  easily  convinced,  and  carried  his 
library  back  to  the  minister's  house,  and  very  likely  others  paid 
visits  to  their  homes  in  order  to  complete  their  dressing,  made  in  such 
undignified  haste  during  the  night. 

Lieutenant  Cooper  knew  b}^  name  every  Indian  of  the  Agawams,  he 
having  been  for  over  a  quarter  of  a  centur}^  a  familiar  figure  among 
them.  Sometimes  he  would  apprehend  one  of  them,  as  an  officer  of 
the  law  ;  sometimes  he  would  aid  them  by  loans  of  seed  or  utensils. 
He  had,  personally,  no  fear  of  the  Agawams,  and  he  induced  Thomas 
INIiller,  who  was  always  ready  for  adventure,  to  accompany  him  to 
the  fort  quite  early  in  the  morning.  In  less  than  half  an  hour  from 
the  start  the  horse  of  Cooper  returned  on  a  full  run  up  the  village 
street  from  Mill  river.  Upon  his  back  was  his  bleeding  master 
clinging  in  the  saddle.  The  horse  ran  directly  toward  the  Pynchon 
house  from  which  he  had  started,  and  when  he  stopped  at  the  door 
Cooper  fell  to  the  ground  dead.  Miller  was  killed  at  the  first  volley 
from  the  Indians,  just  as  they  were  entering  the  woods  this  side  of 
Mill  river. 

The  dreadful  secret  was  out.  Springfield  had  indeed  been  set 
apart  for  fire  and  slaughter.  The  Indians  were  already  making  the 
air  dismal  with  their  yells.  Some  of  Mr.  Pynchon's  mills  at  the 
South  End  were  soon  in  ashes.  The  wife  of  John  Matthews  who 
lived  at  the  South  End  was  probably  found  at  her  home  and  there 
butchered.  The  torch  was  applied  to  the  deserted  houses  by  the 
excited  savages  that  poured  through  the  street  in  great  numbers.  At 
the  head  of  the  horde  the  astonished  planters  saw  the  old  sachem  of 
the  Springfield  Indians,  the  friend  of  the  whites,  —  Wequogan,  whose 


SFRTXG  FIELD,     1636-1SS6.  165 

name  figures  in  the  unsigned  Indian  deed  referred  to  at  the  opening 
of  the  chapter.  He  was  sometimes  called  Wrutherna,  a  name  at- 
tached to  the  original  Indian  deed  of  1636.  If  it  was  the  same 
person  who  knew  William  Pynchon  and  had  been  the  recipient  of  his 
liberality,  if  not  his  bounty,  the  sachem's  treacher}"  was  all  the  more 
marked,  and  it  may  be  here  said  that  he  was  probabl}^  killed  in  battle 
a  year  later  at  Dedham. 

One  party  fired  the  house  of  correction  on  the  hill,  and  after  the 
flames  were  leaping  from  thirty-three  liouses  and  from  twentj'-five 
barns,  the  savages  seemed  determined  on  more  blood,  but  the  three 
houses  were  too  well  built  and  defended  for  the  Indian  mode  of 
attack.  An  importunate  savage  having  secured  a  pewter  platter 
held  it  before  him  and  marched  toward  one  of  the  houses,  but  it  onl}^ 
served  as  a  guide  to  the  bullets  that  pierced  his  heart.  This  platter, 
with  two  bullet-holes,  was  owned  by  Joseph  Ferre,  but  a  domestic 
sold  it  to  a  junk-dealer  about  thirty  years  ago. 

The  Indians  secured  rich  plunder  but  little  blood  upon  this  dread- 
ful 5th  of  October.  Edmund  Pringrydays  was  fatally  wounded,  and 
about  noon  David  ^Morgan  received  a  bullet  wound  in  his  neck,  while 
attempting  with  others  to  lu'ing  over  some  of  Major  Treat's  soldiers 
who  had  arrived  in  great  haste  on  the  West  Springfield  bank.  The 
Indians  had  little  trouble  in  keeping  the  reenforcements  at  bay,  but 
three  hours  later  Major  Pynchon  and  Captain  Appleton  with  200 
troopers  rode  into  Springfield  on  a  dead  run  all  the  way  from  Had- 
ley  ;  but  all  that  was  left  for  them  to  do  was  to  scare  off  the  In- 
dians, who  had  no  notion  of  joining  battle.  The}^  were  heavily  laden 
with  plunder.  The  ashes  of  the  town  was  the  evidence  of  their 
wrath,  and  oft'  the}^  went  into  the  forest. 

The  Indians  retired  with  their  booty  to  Indian  Leap  (Indian 
Orchard),  built  up  twenty-four  fires  on  that  naturally  fortified  spot, 
overhanging  the  waters,  slept  in  perfect  security,  and  awoke  in 
triumph ;  but  Springfield  slept  in  smoke  and  danger,  and  awoke  in 
fear.     The  town  never  knew  a  darker  day- 


186  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

An  Indian  squaw  was  captured  by  the  P^nglish,  and  she  said  that 
there  were  270  warriors  in  the  attack  upon  Springfield.  It  is  prob- 
abl}^  nearer  the  truth  tlian  tlie  GOO  wliich  some  writers  claim.  Rev. 
Mr.  Russell,  of  Hadley,  even  considered  270  too  high.  The  captured 
squaw  said  that  King  Philip  intended  to  burn  three  towns  in  one  day, 
and  his  divided  army  makes  the  smaller  estimates  as  to  the  force  at 
Springfield  seem  more  probable.  This  squaw,  by  the  way,  had  a 
terrible  fate,  according  to  Mosely,  who  writes:  "This  aforesaid 
Indian  was  ordered  to  be  torn  to  peeces  by  Doggs  and  she  was  soe 
dealt  Avithall."  Mosely  was  a  typical  Indian-hater.  We  decline  to 
believe  that  this  was  done  by  the  order  of  the  English,  who  received 
too  much  valuable  infonnation  from  captured  Indians  to  kill  them  after 
such  service.  If  the  squaw  had  returned  to  her  people  and  suffered 
death  for  serving  the  English,  that  story  might  be  believed. 

The  opinion  was  general,  at  first,  that  Springfield  had  received  its 
death-blow.  Winter  was  approaching  and  retreat  seemed  inevitable. 
Mr.  Pynchon  so  wrote  the  ^Massachusetts  authorities.  Not  a  house 
nor  a  barn  was  standing  between  Round  Hill  and  ]\Ir.  Pynchon's  house, 
except  that  of  AYilliam  Branch.  While  P^mchon's  garrison-house 
was  saved,  the  Indians  had  levelled  his  barns  and  out-buildings,  thus 
destroying  much  hay  and  grain.  Many  of  Pynchon's  neighbors  owed 
him  money,  and  this,  with  mills  and  property  outside  destroyed, 
almost  bowed  him  down  with  sorrow.  There  were  a  few  houses 
standing  about  the  old  meeting-house,  but  otherwise  there  was  a 
blackened  district  between  that  and  Mr.  Pynchon's,  the  losses  in- 
cluding the  minister's  house  and  Mr.  Hitchcock's.  From  Mr.  Mir- 
rick's  place  to  the  garrison-liouses  in  lower  Main  street  was  another 
burned  district.  Mr.  Pynchon  had  quite  a  property  in  that  part  of 
the  town, — grist  and  corn  mills,  four  tenement-houses,  —  all  de- 
stroyed, with  possibly  one  mill,  aud  with  them  much  corn.  "  X^  Ld 
shew  mercy  to  us,"  writes  the  down-hearted  magistrate,  "I  see  not 
how  it  is  Possible  for  us  to  live  here  this  winter  If  so  the  sooner  we 
were  holpen  off  y*"  Better."     There  were  left  standing  fifteen  houses 


Maj.  John  Pyxchon's  Ride. 


168  SPRIXGFIELJ),    16S6^JSS6. 

ou  the  street,  and  in  all,  with  those  in  the  ontskirts  and  over  the 
river,  about  forty- five  survived  the  attack.  That  is,  fort^'-five  occu- 
pied houses  had  to  accommodate  forty  families  more,  as  well  as  a  garri- 
son of  two  hundred  soldiers.  They  were  in  great  need  of  medicine 
for  the  wounded,  and  provisions  were  scarce.  Several  whose  houses 
were  saved  lost  their  goods  in  other  houses,  whither  they  had  carried 
them  on  the  night  of  the  4th.  The  soldiers,  many  of  them  from  the 
east,  complained  that  there  was  no  bread  to  be  had,  but  meat  seemed 
to  be  plenty.  ^lajor  Treat  was  called  upon  by  the  Connecticut 
authorities  to  hasten  south  for  the  defence  of  the  towns  below.  The 
"Worshipful  Major "  was  alive  to  the  unmilitary  move  in  leaving 
Springfield  undefended,  and  in  his  report  of  October  8  to  the  liay 
authorities  he  takes  occasion  to  refer  to  his  calling  oft"  the  soldiers  to 
Hadley,  "leaving  none  to  secure  y""  Towne  bee  y*"  commissioners 
order  was  so  strict."  He  was  not  aware  at  this  time  that  he  had  been 
superseded  in  command,  and  he  says  :  "  To  speake  my  thoughts,  all 
these  Townes  ought  to  be  Garrisoned,  as  I  have  formerly  hinted  & 
had  I  bin  left  to  my  selfe  I  should  I  think  have  done  y^  w*^^''  possibly 
might  have  prvented  this  damage." 

The  loss  of  Lieutenant  Cooper  was  severely  felt.  For  man}'  3'ears 
he  had  been  a  wheel-horse  in  the  town  aft'airs.  He  was  auditor  of  the 
selectmen's  accounts  at  the  time  of  his  death.  His  various  accom- 
plishments showed  how  wide  were  the  demands  ui)on  the  early 
dwellers.  He  was  a  practising  attorney  before  the  County  Court ;  he 
was  a  practical  carpenter  and  farmer ;  he  was  a  bone-setter  and  a 
surveyor  ;  he  had  been  a  deputy  at  the  General  Court,  and  townsman, 
and  had  been  an  invaluable  agent  in  dealing  with  tlie  Indians.  His 
descendants  may  well  place  him  beside  the  good  and  iioble  Deacon 
Samuel  Chapiu  as  a  pillar  of  the  town.  His  deeds  fully  warrant  it. 
Thomas  Miller  was  constable  of  the  town  when  shot. 

It  is  one  of  the  admirable  traits  in  the  meu  of  these  times  that 
they  did  not  for  a  moment  lose  an  abiding  faith  in  the  religion  the}^ 
had  come  here  to   spread.     They   might  think  of    abandoning  the 


SPRIXGFIELD,    1636-IS86.  169 


plantation,  but  not  the  gospel ;  and  the  words  of  .Pynehon  to  his  son 
Joseph,  written  October  20  of  this  dreadful  year,  were  the  words  of 
Springfield:  "How  sweet  is  our  interest  in  Jesus  Christ  in  these 
distracting  tyraes  !  " 

John  Pynehon  was  of  a  sensitive  nature,  and  he  was  a  great  suf- 
ferer, personally,  under  this  aflfliction.  When  he  first  began  his  ap- 
peals to  Boston  to  be  relieved  of  his  military  post,  he  had  referred 
among  other  things  to  the  "  lashes  of  the  tongues  of  men"  against 
him,  and  his  sharp  sense  of  the  foolishness  of  the  Hadley  expedition 
was  not  a  bit  lessened  by  the  plea  that  he  had  done  a  rash  thing  even 
though  under  strict  orders.  A  bolder  man  —  his  father,  for  example 
—  would  have  chosen  rather  to  stand  the  ordeal  of  explaining  to  his 
superiors  how  he  saved  the  town  by  disobeying  orders. 

Captain  Appleton  received  from  Lieutenant  Upham  the  news  of  his 
promotion  to  the  command  of  the  valley  forces,  and  on  the  l-2th  re- 
turned to  Hadley,  where  he  wrote  Governor  Leverett  that  he  proposed 
to  use  his  own  judgment  about  garrisoning  the  towns.  He  spoke  feel- 
ingly of  ^lajor  Pynchon's  misfortunes,  but  opposed  the  idea  of  aban- 
doning Springfield.  He  continued  :  "As  to  the  state  of  poor  desolate 
Springfeild,  to  whose  relief  we  came  (though  with  a  march  that  had 
put  all  our  men  into  a  most  violent  sweat,  and  was  more  than  they 
could  well  bear)  too  late,  their  condition  is  indeed  most  aflaictive  .  .  . 
I  have  in  regard  to  y^  present  distress  of  y'  poor  people,  adventured 
to  leave  Capt.  Sill  there,  to  be  ordered  by  the  Hon.  Major  until  further 
order  be  received.  AYhat  hazard  I  run,  I  am  not  insensible,  but  do 
rather  choose  to  adventure  hazard  to  myself  than  to  the  public,  and  so 
throw  myself  on  your  worship's  mercy  in  so  doing  ...  In  the  account 
of  Springfeild  houses  we  only  presented  the  number  of  them  on  the 
East  side  of  the  river,  and  that  in  the  town  flatt ;  for  in  all  on  the 
AVest  side,  and  in  the  outskirts  on  the  East  side,  there  are  about  sixty 
houses  stancling,  and  much  room  in  and  about  them  :  which  coming 
into  the  Indians'  hands  will  yield  great  support  to  them.  We  had 
been  considerino-  the  makino-  of  a  boat  or  boats,  and  find  it   not  de- 


170  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


sirable  ;  first,  because  the  river  is  not  navigable,  and  so  none  made 
here  can  be  had  up.  Secondly,  should  we  make  any  above  the  falls, 
there  must  be  an  army  to  guard  the  workmen  in  the  work  :  —  Thirdly, 
we  find  exceedingly  hard,  by  any  provision,  to  secure  our  men  in  the 
boats  by  reason  that  the  high  banks  of  the  river  giving  the  enemy  so 
great  advantage  of  shooting  downward  upon  us." 

Three  days  after  the  above  letter  was  penned  Edward  Eawson  wrote 
Major  Pynchon,  by  order  of  the  Massachusetts  Council,  explaining 
that  the  order  of  the  Commissioners  concentrating  the  troops  did 
•'  not,  in  the  least,  obstruct  your  quartering  of  soldiers  in  such  wise 
as  may  be  for  your  greatest  security,  nor  did  it  enforce  your  drawing 
them  off  to  so  great  a  disadvantage  as  hath  happened." 

This  attempt  to  escape  the  responsibility  of  the  burning  of  Spring- 
field reads  very  strangely  in  face  of  express  military  orders,  and 
Major  Pynchon's  frequent  protests  against  such  a  policy.  Still, 
Pynchon  should  share  the  blame  of  the  disaster,  as  he  ought  to  have 
taken  the  responsibility  of  using  the  natural  means  of  self-defence 
within  his  reach. 

The  General  Court,  immediately  after  the  burning  of  Springfield, 
issued  a  military  manual  for  the  government  of  the  army  in  the  field. 
This  was  the  first  provision  of  the  code  :  "Let  no  man  presume  to 
blaspheme  the  holy  &  blessed  Trinity,  God  the  Father,  God  the  Son, 
and  God  the  Holy  Ghost,  upon  payne  to  have  his  Tongue  bored  w*^  a 
hott  iron." 

Appleton  was  a  man  of  pronounced  character.  Indeed,  he  had  lost 
his  seat  in  the  General  Court  because  he  had  signed  in  1666  the  peti- 
tion from  Ipswich  recommending  submission  to  the  King's  order  to 
send  agents  to  his  Majesty  at  once.  The  mark  of  favor  shown  him 
after  being  so  long  under  a  cloud  did  not  lessen  the  courage  of  his 
convictions.  He  deplored  the  commissioners'  plan  of  defending  the 
valley  by  concentrating  troops.  He  followed  out  the  declarations  in 
his  letter  to  his  superiors,  and  distributed  his  little  army  in  a  way  to 
protect  all  the  towns. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  171 


Hartford  sent  up  some  ammimition  to  Springfield  just  in  the  nick  of 
time,  the  stock  up  the  river  being  very  low. 

The  destruction  of  the  mills  forced  Springfield  to  go  to  Westfield 
for  flour,  which  was  a  very  dangerous  journey  at  that  time,  and  the 
withdrawal  of  Treat  and  his  Connecticut  soldiers  added  to  Appleton's 
embarrassment.  Appleton  sent  to  Hartford  calling  upon  the  author- 
ities once  more  to  send  himreenforcements.  It  appears  that  besides 
the  alarm  over  a  reported  advance  of  savages  in  that  colony,  there 
was  a  disposition  to  look  out  for  number  one,  because  Plymouth  had 
neglected  to  send  its  quota  of  troops. 

Scouts  were  sent  in  all  directions  from  Hadley,  to  secure  some  trace 
of  the  enemy.  The  men  were  affected  with  "  timorousness,"  as  they 
had  been  when  Major  Pynchon  was  in  command,  and  nothing  came  of 
it.  After  two  days  Appleton  became  very  uneasy.  On  the  14th  of 
October,  Mosely  at  Hatfield,  and  Seeley  at  Northampton,  were  or- 
dered to  report  at  Hadley  for  action.  Mosely,  with  his  company, 
were  soon  on  the  ground,  and  Seeley  came  alone  and  doubted  the  le- 
oality  of  the  order.  A  new^  one  was  made  out,  to  appear  on  the  loth. 
That  night  he  sent  a  message  from  Northampton  to  Hadley,  saying 
that  Major  Treat  had  ordered  him  to  remain  at  Northampton  until 
further  orders.  Seeley  was  a  Connecticut  officer,  and  his  force  Con- 
necticut men.  Here  was  a  conflict  of  authority,  growing  out  of  the 
apparent  refusal  of  Connecticut  to  fight  in  Massachusetts  because 
Plymouth  had  failed  to  respond. 

On  the  16th  Appleton  started  w^ith  some  Massachusetts  troops 
for  Northfield,  but  a  messenger  overtook  him  with  word  that  the  In- 
dians had  appeared  on  the  west  side  of  the  river.  He  immediately 
crossed,  marched  to  Hatfield,  and  pushed  on  north  by  night.  The 
report  of  a  gun  showed  that  the  enemy  was  near.  Appleton  proposed 
to  advance  to  Deerfield.  Mosely  did  not  want  to  get  so  far  from  the 
towns.  A  thunder-storm  finally  forced  them  back  to  Hatfield.  It 
seemed  that  Philip  was  at  Deerfield,  and  that  his  scouts  were  lurking 
about  Hadley,  Hatfield,  and  Northampton,  watching  a  chance  for  an 


l''^  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6. 


attack.  On  the  evening  of  the  17th  Appletoii,  then  at  Hadley,  was 
beset  with  couriers.  Seeley  sent  from  Northampton  for  aid,  as  the 
enemy  had  been  seen  there  ;  Mosely  reported  the  Indians  within  a 
mile  of  Hatfield  ;  and  word  came  from  Connecticut  that  troops  would 
be  sent  up  the  river  at  once.  Detachments  were  sent  to  Hatfield 
and  Northampton  that  night.  The  Indians  failed  to  attack,  but  on 
October  19th  the  forces  of  the  great  Pokanoket  chief,  flushed  with 
the  destruction  of  four  towns  and  almost  unlimited  plunder,  closed 
in  upon  Hatfield  with  a  large  force.  Mosely  and  Poole  bravely  de- 
fended the  town,  and  Appleton,  hearing  the  sound  of  battle  from 
Hadley,  dashed  to  the  rescue.  The  Indians  ontnumbered  tlie  whites 
three  to  one,  but  the  place  was  saved.  Only  about  nine  of  the 
English  fell. 

The  fighting  season  was  now  over.  The  winter  closed  in  enrly,  and 
many  Springfield  families  probably  were  forced  to  live  in  closed  cellars 
and  dug-outs.  Some  of  the  Indians  went  east ;  many,  especially  the 
aged,  wintered  above  Northfield  ;  and  Philip,  with  a  band  of  about 
five  hundred,  pushed  over  to  the  Hudson  river.  He  was  a  sick  man, 
and  although  he  survived  to  do  much  harm,  his  career  was  drawing 
to  a  close. 

The  second  year  in  King  Philip's  war  is  in  the  main  but  re- 
motely connected  with  Springfield.  The  new  board  of  selectmen  were 
Ensign  Cooley,  Jonathan  Burt,  John  Keep,  John  Hitchcock,  and  Eli- 
zur  Holyoke.  The  winter  was  passed  in  a  state  of  practical  impris- 
onment for  fear  of  skulking  Indians.  Mr.  Pynchon  visited  Westfield, 
where  the  mills  were,  with  Goodman  Dumbleton  and  two  young  men, 
and  three  men  were  killed  by  Indians.  Mr.  Pynchon  attended  the  .^lay 
General  Court,  and  was  chairman  of  a  committee  to  consult  with 
Captain  Mosely  as  to  the  military  situation. 

A  new  valuation  for  Springfield  was  ordered  on  account  of  the  fire, 
and  later  in  the  year  £150  was  taken  from  the  colony  tax  on  account 
of  Springfield's  losses.  In  February  the  town  met  to  elect  a  select- 
man, "  God  having  taken  away  Captain  Holyoke."     Samuel  Marsh- 


SPRIXGFIELD,    1636-18S6.  173 


field  was  elected  to  fill  his  place.     The  brave  Samuel  Hol^^oke  was 
made  "  Clarke  of  y'"  writts." 

The  Loiigmeadow  settlers  were  not  able  to  visit  the  village  oii  Sim- 
day  to  attend  service.  In  March  a  party  attended  by  a  guard  ven- 
tured to  make  the  journey.  They  were  attacked  by  eight  Indians, 
and  Selectman  Keep,  his  wife  and  child,  killed,  and  several  wounded. 
There  was  a  story  told  at  Boston  at  the  time  that  the  guard  took  to 
their  heels  the  moment  the  Indians  fired.  Major  Pynchon  pursued 
the  savages  with  a  company  of  horse,  but  to  no  purpose.  Anthony 
Dorchester  was  chosen  as  Keep's  successor. 

The  snow  suddenly  disappeared  in  the  latter  part  of  January,  and 
a  kind  Providence  gave  the  planters  a  mild  winter  and  early  spring. 
The  discovery  of  the  treachery  of  the  Narragansetts  and  the  destruc- 
tion of  their  fort,  with  slaughter  far  more  dreadful  than  that  of  the  Pe- 
quot  fort,  sent  hundreds  of  savages  again  into  the  Connecticut  valley, 
who  met  the  desperate  King  Philip.  In  the  latter  part  of  March  Ca- 
nonchet,  together  with  Sancumachu,  a  Nonotuck  sachem,  to  whom 
the  Agawams  had  acknowledged  sovereignty,  were  with  Philip  a  few 
miles  above  Northfield.  Canonchet  lost  his  head  while  attempting  to 
bring  seed-corn  from  the  Narragansett  country  ;  but  the  maid  of 
Quiunapin,  who  undertook  the  errand,  was  more  successful,  bringing 
away  a  peck  and  a  half  of  seed.  They  then  scattered  into  planting 
and  fishing  parties  to  provide  against  famine.  Hatfield,  Korthamp- 
ton,  and  Hadley  were  garrisoned.  An  Indian  attack  on  Northampton 
in  the  middle  of  March  was  successfully  resisted.  The  Massachusetts 
council  renewed  its  advice  about  the  concentration  of  forces,  sug- 
gested Springfield  as  the  best  place  to  fortify,  and  directed  the  aban- 
donment of  Westfield.  Protests  were  sent  to  Boston  from  the  various 
towns  ;  AYestfield  in  town-meeting  voted  that  the  inhabitants  were 
ready  to  go  down  the  river  if  properly  protected  by  soldiers,  but  re- 
fused to  remove  to  Springfield,  although  they  would  like  to  do  it  for 
the  "worshipful  Major  Pynchon's  sake."  The  assertion  of  some 
Avriters,    that  Westfield    did   not   want  to    go   to    Connecticut,    but 


174  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


made  the  threat  in  order  to  secure  aid  from  Boston,  is  now  discred- 
ited. 

On  May  18,  Captain  Turner,  of  Boston,  attacked  the  Indians  while 
yet  asleep  at  what  is  now  called  Turner's  Falls,  killing  over  three 
hundred.  Another  party  of  Indians  hastened  to  the  rescue  and  forced 
the  whites  to  retire  down  the  river,  our  Captain  Samuel  Holyoke  pro- 
tecting the  rear.  Samuel  had  seen  a  little  fighting,  and  was  gaining 
a  name  for  Indian  warfare.  Upon  the  retreat  Holyoke  was  brought 
into  hand-to-hand  contests  with  the  savages,  five  of  whom  he  ran 
through  and  killed  with  his  sword  in  the  morning  fight.  Holyoke's 
horse  was  shot  from  under  him,  and,  as  he  fell,  numbers  of  Indians 
closed  upon  him.  The  first  was  killed  by  Holyoke's  pistol,  and  the 
captain's  men  saved  him  from  death  ;  he  was  but  twenty-eight  year^ 
old.  Turner  had  been  shot  in  Greenfield  meadow,  and  young  Hol- 
yoke, assuming  command,  succeeded  so  well  in  checking  what  was  slU 
most  a  panic,  that  he  arrived  at  Hatfield  with  one  hundred  and  forty 
men.  He  had  taken  charge  of  a  rout,  and  converted  it  into  a  mili- 
tary retreat.  But  it  cost  him  his  life.  He  never  recovered  from  the 
exhaustion  of  those  two  days,  and  in  October  he  sank  into  his  grave, 
and  was  buried  beside  his  father,  Elizur  Holyoke. 

Philip  made  a  desperate  effort  on  the  30th  of  May  to  overpower 
Hatfield,  but  he  was  repulsed  with  considerable  loss.  He  was  equally 
unsuccessful  June  12,  when  he  attacked  Hadley.  His  army  was  now 
forced  to  scatter.  A  party  passing  Westfield  towards  the  Hudson 
were  pursued,  and  lost  sixty  in  killed  and  wounded.  Philip  was  sur- 
rounded August  12  in  a  swamp  near  Mount  Hope.  An  Englishman 
aimed  at  Philip  and  missed,  when  a  friendly  Indian  shot  him,  and  he 
fell  upon  his  face  in  the  mud  and  water  with  his  gini  under  him.  His 
hands  were  exhibited  at  Boston,  his  head  at  Plymouth,  and  the  beasts 
of  the  forest  fed  upon  his  mangled  trunk.  The  famous  Indian  was 
dead,  the  Connecticut  valley  was  at  peace,  and  Springfield  was  m 
ashes. 


CHAPTER  X. 

1677-1703. 

Waste  Places  rebuilt,  —  Deacon  Chapin. -Chicopee.  —  Fishing  Privileges.  —  The 
Second  Meeting-House.— Trouble  about  Mr.  Glover's  House  and  Lot.  —  Schools. — 
Taxes.  — Law  Breakers.— The  Freemen  of  1678.  — The  "Accord  Tree."— King 
William's  War.  —  PynchoiPs  Attempts  to  protect  the  Towns.—  Sir  Edmund  Andros  in 
Springfield.—  Massacre  at  Brookfield.—  Captain  Colton's  Heroism.—  Pynchon's  Letter 
to  Stoughton.  — Death  of  Mr.  Glover.  —  Suffield.  —  Enfield.  —  The  Boundary  Ques- 
tion. —  Brimfield.  —West  Springfield.  — Its  Struggle  for  a  Separate  ISIinister.- Pyn- 
chon's Place  in  the  Commonwealth.  —His  Business  Connections.— Beaver  Trade  with 
England.  — Pynchon's  Death. 

The  first  thought  of  Springfield  was  safetj^  and  the  second  the 
restoration  of  the  street  to  its  former  condition.  The  men  upon 
whom  the  first  steps  of  the  burden  of  the  rebuilding  rested  were 
Selectmen  George  Colton,  John  Dumbleton,  Benjamin  Parsons,  John 
Dorchester,  and  Henry  Chapin. 

The  venerable  Deacon  Chapin  had  sunk  into  his  grave  amid  the 
desperate  confusion  of  war.  It  would  have  indeed  required  that 
faith  which  removes  mountains  to  have  died  in  a  serene  hope  for 
the  future  of  Springfield.  The  larger  faith  in  the  gospel  and  the 
Christian  commonwealth  we  know  he  did  have. 

Samuel  Chapin  is  supposed  to  have  been  a  Huguenot,  possibly  one 
of  about  150  families  that  reached  these  shores  shortly  after  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  settlement.  The  Chapin  name  had  an  honorable 
place  in  France  so  far  back  as  the  tenth  century,  when  a  Frenchman 
won  a  coat  of  arms  and  the  sobriquet  "  Capinatus,"  from  a  cut  in 
his  head  received  during  a  fight.  The  cap  with  a  cut  in  it  and  sword 
lying    across    it   became    the   coat-of-arms  of    the   family,   and  this 


176  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


heraldic  device  1ms  come  down  in  the  American  l)ranch.  It  is  supposed 
that  Samuel  Chapin's  father  fled  first  to  Holland.  After  marrying 
Cicely,  a  P^rench  maiden,  Samuel  went  to  Dartmouth,  England,  and 
migrated  with  several  children  to  Xew  f:ngland,  settled  first  at  R ox- 
bury  about  1635,  and  finally,  1642,  or  a  year  or  two  later,  arrived  at 
Springfield.  As  a  deacon  in  tlie  ancient  Springfield  cluirch  he  will 
always  stand  in  solenm  relief  in  this  connnunity  :  as  the  i)rogenitor  of 
a  large  and  important  family  his  name  is  perpetuated  in  many  cities 
and  towns.  The  selectman  Henry  Chapin  of  1677  was  the  deacon's 
son.  Henry  and  his  brother  Japhet  had  become  interested  in  the 
Chicopee  part  of  the  town.  Henry  about  this  time  built  a  house  in 
what  is  now  the  lower  end  of  Chicopee  street,  and  Japhet  at  the  upper 
end.  They  became  veritable  patriarchs.  Henry  begat  five  children  ; 
Japhet  begat  ten  children.  Of  these,  eiglit  were  boys  ;  and  these  eight 
boys  begat  eighty-seven  children. 

George  Colton,  who  stands  at  the  head  of  the  list  of  selectmen,  was 
the  well-known  Quartermaster  Colton,  father  of  Longmeadow,  as 
some  have  called  him,  and  the  head  of  the  numerous  family  of  Col- 
tons  in  this  country.  Benjamin  Parsons  was  the  Deacon  Parsons  of 
Mr.  Glover's  ministry,  who  also  became  somewhat  of  a  patriarch. 

Other  officers  chosen  in  the  winter  of  1677  will  excite  more  than 
an  idle  interest.  John  Pynchon  was  moderator  of  the  town-meeting, 
as  usual.     The  officers  elected  in  addition  to  the  selectmen  were  : 

Clerk,  John  Holyoke;  measurer  for  land  apportioned,  Samuel  Marshfield ; 
constable,  Rice  Bedortha;  surveyors  of  liighways  on  the  east  side  of  the  river, 
Nathaniel  Prichard  and  Joseph  Ashley,  west  side,  John  Petty ;  haywards  for  the 
common  fields,— for  house-lots  on  east  side  of  the  river.  Goodman  Clark:  for 
Longmeadow,  Ephraim  Colton ;  for  west  side,  Henry  Rogers ;  Agawam  mead- 
ows, James  Stevenson;   Chicopee  plain,  Samuel  Bedortha. 

The  street  must  have  presented  a  dismal  appearance  at  this  time, 
with  its  extemporized  shelters,  roofed  cellars,  fortified  door-ways,  and 
even  barricades  extending  into  the  street.     It  was  proposed  at  first 


SPRINGFIELD,     1636-1886.  177 


to  run  a  street  parallel  to  the  main  street  through  the  house-lots 
(Water  street)  in  order  to  bring  the  planters  together ;  but  the 
scheme  was  abandoned.  Garrison  soldiers  were  quartered  in  the 
town  at  times  for  some  years,  and  the  skulking  Indians  in  the  forests 
made  every  journey  out  to  the  commons  for  wood  or  over  the  river  or 
to  the  land  above  the  Three-Corner  brook,  a  little  military  campaign. 
Disorderly  appearance  of  the  main  street  may  be  inferred  from  this 
order  of  the  selectmen  as  late  as  the  winter  of  1679  :  — 

That  no  persons  hencefortli  without  liberty  fro  y^  Towne  doe  dig  or  cumber 
ye  highway  or  streete  fro  y"  upper  wharfe  to  y^  bridge  of  Obadiah  Cooleys  w'h 
firewood,  clay,  timber  onto  it  before  his  building  or  fencing  and  that  such  as 
have  filled  the  streete  or  Lanes  wth  clay,  wood,  Timber  &  remove  not  the  same 
by  the  middle  of  June  next  shall  be  Lyable  to  forfeit  the  same,  as  also  that  no 
Persons  dig  holes  or  pits  in  the  streets  without  leave  upon  the  penalty  of  5s. 

About  a  dozen  men  received  allotments  of  laud  in  1677,  and  in  a 
short  time,  it  will  be  here  remarked,  the  custom  of  taking  money  for 
these  apportionments  sprang  up. 

The  house  of  correction  and  jail,  to  supply  the  place  of  the  one 
burned  in  1675,  was  located  on  Main  street  (corner  of  Bliss),  and 
was  built  under  the  direction  of  Major  Pynchon. 

The  town  voted  in  1677  that  "  Goodm:  Lamb,  Sergeant  Morgan, 
Joseph  Crowfoot,  John  Clarke  senior,  Charles  Ferry  with  such  others 
as  they  shall  take  in  with  them"  be  given  a  license  to  fish  ''  from  y^ 
falls  in  Chicuppi  River  where  the  wadeing  place  is,  down  to  y^ 
mouth  of  that  River,  provided  they  enter  not  upon  any  man's  Lands 
or  proprietyes."  The  scale  of  prices  fixed  for  them  was  as  follows  : 
Fresh  salmon  at  the  river,  M.^  in  village,  M.  ;  fresh  shad,  half  penny 
at  river.  Id.  in  village  ;  salt  fish,  ^'  to  the  Town  twelve  pence  p*" 
Barrel  for  al  that  shal  be  transported." 

The  year  1677  did  not  pass  without  an  attempt  to  come  to  an 
understanding  with  the  Indians,  but  after  some  negotiations  at  North- 
ampton the  hope  of  cordial  relations  was  abandoned. 


178  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

The  meeting-house  was  old  and  small,  —  not  equal  to  the  demands 
of  the  congregation,  even  with  benches  in  the  aisles.  Before  the 
Indian  troubles  the  contracted  quarters  occasioned  much  inconven- 
ience. The  selectmen  in  1674  had  proposed  additions  to  the  house  ; 
but  the  town  w^anted  a  new  building.  Finally  various  motions  for  a 
new^  house,  including  that  for  a  building  committee,  headed  by  John 
Pynchon,  were  passed  '•w^'^  alacrity  w'^'out  contention."  The  site 
at  first  selected  was  Sergeant  Stebbins's  lot  "  on  the  hill,"  he  to  have 
in  exchange  four  acres  north  of  Round  Hill.  A  tax  was  not  levied 
until  the  winter  of  1675,  but  the  division  of  opinion  about  location 
delayed  the  work  until  King  Philip's  war.  Even  in  August,  1676, 
the  people,  overwhelmed  w4th  loss  of  property  and  men,  w^ere  bold 
enough  to  vote  with  a  faith  that  commands  our  admiration :  — 

Ordered  That  Ensigne  Cooly  &  Sam  Marshfeild  be  added  to  y^  committee  for 
ye  meeting  house  affaire  ;  some  of  y'"  being  Dead  :  These  are  a  supply  &  w^^  ye 
rest  remaining,  to  act  as  formerly.  The  s^  comittee  or  any  3  of  y°i  to  treate  w^^ 
John  Allyns  And  (in  regard  to  y^  Towne's  Poverty  by  reson  of  y^  warr)  If  he 
will  stay  for  his  pay  Then  to  get  him  to  Raise  y«  Meeting  house  as  soone  as 
may  be. 

During  the  following  summer  the  second  church  edifice  of  Spring- 
field was  put  up.  The  old  building  was  evidently  not  removed  until 
the  new  one,  situated  just  west  of  it,  was  consecrated ;  and  then  it 
was  disposed  of  for  £5.  The  meeting-house  yard  was  enclosed  by  a 
five-rail  fence,  except  in  the  rear,  where  a  hedge  was  built.  The 
total  cost  of  the  building  itself,  so  far  as  can  be  figured  out  from  the 
records,  was  £400,  which  was  not  all  paid  until  1688.  It  had  a 
turret,  but  a  beU  was  not  put  in  for  nearly  ten  years.  The  deacons 
had  a  seat  by  themselves,  and  there  are  references  to  the  great  pillars, 
banisters,  posts,  friezes,  "  benches  in  the  alleys,  rods  &c  for  the 
canope,"  and  so  on.  They  kept  the  children  away  from  the  windows 
this  time,  but  some  dogs  managed  to  break  3s.  worth  of  glass.  Here 
are  some  items  in  the  accounts  of  the  building  committee  :  — 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


179 


Eaising  the  piilpit  floor  frame  15^ 
Two  quarts  of  drinke  for  Jno  Gilbert  when  lie  made  y^-  glass  4s, 

Hands  to  raise  the  Ladder,  1  qut  of  Rum  2s. 

Slitworke  used  about  the  pulpit  10s  9d 


The  meeting-house  was  fortified  against  Indians,  the  paling  or 
stockade  being  made  of  foot-logs  ten  and  a  half  feet  long.  The  same 
fortification  was  put  up  about  Mr.  Glover's  house.  The  town's 
accounts  for  1(379  included  the  foUowino-  items:  — 


The  Towne  is  debtor 
To  the  ministry  or  minister, 
To  the  Comittee  for  ye  new  meeting  house, 
To  the  comittee  for  Mr.  Glovers  house, 

To  the  Schoolmtr,  6£  for  ye  Towne;  and  6£  10s  for  Chicupi, 
To  ye  sweep  of  the  meeting 

To  Sam:  Ely  for  expences  at  liis  house  &  1  qu:   rum  for  Per- 
ambulators, 
To  G.  Parsons  for  his  team  for  ye  Flanker, 
To  making  ye  votes, 
To  Jon:   Sikes  for  a  flanker. 
To  Sam:   INIarshfield,  for  making  v^  lockes. 


;;80 

00 

00 

50 

00 

00 

06 

00 

00 

12 

10 

00 

02 

10 

00 

1 

13 

06 

0 

05 

00 
20 

1 

00 

06 

0 

05 

00 

The  Towne  is  creditor 

b^^  a  vote  made  for  Mr  Glover 

Ct  by  a  vote  made  for  ye  new  meeting  house 

To  a  Towne  rate 

Ct  by  ye  sale  of  the  old  meeting  house 

Ct  by  ye  boards  of  ye  same  house 

Ct  by  ye  Town  Land  at  Chickuppi :   6,  10s 


80  00  00 

50  00  00 

20  00  00 

5  00  00 

1  00  00 

06  10  00 


The  perambulators  were  men  who  were  appointed  to  make  the 
rounds  of  the  town  limits  and  see  that  the  surveyors'  marks  remained 
intact.  We  have  no  local  traditions  like  those  in  England  about 
whipping  boys  at  these  corners  in  order  to  aid  their  memories  for  the 
benefit  of  future  generations  ;  but  the  ceremony  was  not  without  its 


180  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


attraction,  especially  to  young  men  who  joined  the  excursion  and 
repaired  with  the  officials  to  the  tavern  for  the  comforts  of  the  inner 
man.  In  1678  Rowland  Tliomas,  Joseph  Bedortha,  and  John  Dor- 
chester were  the  perambulators  on  the  Snffleld  and  Westfield  sides  of 
the  town,  and  it  is  said  that  they  performed  their  duties  "  with  divers 
men  of  both  those  Townes."  The  "  flanker"  was  a  fortification  that 
prevented  side  attacks.  They  may  have  flanked  the  main  entrance 
of  the  church.  The  town  gave  (1G78)  Major  Pynchon  a  special  per- 
mit to  "  set  up  a  flanker  in  the  street  at  the  east  end  of  his  new  house 
y*  is  now  building  on  the  north  side  of  his  own  house-lot  the  which 
flanker  he  desires  he  may  have  liberty  to  set  into  y''  streete  five  foot 
broad  ten  foot  in  length." 

The  item  about  Mr.  Glover's  house  calls  up  another  interesting 
subject.  Mr.  Glover  was  a  man  of  great  tenacity  of  purpose,  and 
was  as  quick  to  defend  his  personal  rights  as  his  religious  tenets.  In 
June,  1669,  Mr.  Glover  had  produced  the  deepest  consternation  by 
the  announcement  that  he  had  about  concluded  to  leave  Springfield 
on  account  of  the  smallness  of  his  stipend.  A  town-meeting  was 
called,  and  a  committee,  headed  by  :\Iajor  Pynchon,  was  sent  over  to 
the  minister's  house,  while  all  the  inhabitants  waited  in  painful  sus- 
pense. The  most  Mr.  Glover  would  say  was  that  he  would  not 
decide  definitely  what  to  do.  The  trouble  blew  over  for  a  time,  but 
broke  out  again  after  the  burning  of  lii^  house  by  the  Indians.  The 
meeting  that  voted  to  go  ahead  with  a  new  meeting-house  (January, 
1677)  decided  to  continue  the  building  of  the  new^  residence  of  Mr. 
Glover  with  the  understanding  that  the  town,  and  not  the  minister, 
should  own  and  hold  the  property.  The  lot,  it  will  be  remembered, 
had  been  deeded  absolutely  to  Mr.  Glover  at  his  settlement,  in  spite 
of  the  fact  that,  at  :\lr.  :Moxon's  departure,  it  had  been  voted  not  to 
part  with  the  ministry  lot.  Here  arose  a  serious  dispute,  which 
carried  a  trail  of  disquietude  for  at  least  twenty  years.  The  planta- 
tion regretted  having  given  Mr.  Glover  a  deed  in  fee-simple,  since  his 
desire  to  leave    threatened  them  with  the  burden  of    voting  away 


SPRINGFIELD,     1636-1886.  181 


another  valuable  lut  of  property  to  a  new  minister.  What  was 
wanted  was  a  permanent  ministry  lot,  and  a  powerful  faction  was 
determined  to  have  one,  even  if  it  increased  the  financial  burdens  of 
the  struggling  plantation. 

George  Colton  (August,  1676)  headed  the  committee  charged  with 
the  rebuilding  of  Mr.  Glover's  house.  Mr.  Glover  was  displeased  to 
hear  that  the  new  house  was  for  his  use  only,  and  the  dispute  was  re- 
ferred to  the  selectmen  and  building  committee.  Therefore,  in  order 
to  secure  the  minister's  "  contentful  continuing  with  us,"  it  was  di- 
rected (June,  1677)  that  Mr.  Glover  should  own  absolutely  the  new 
house  ;  but  the  motion  was  opposed  by  Samuel  Marshfield,  Henry 
C'hapin,  Luke  Hitchcock,  George  Colton,  and  many  others.  Before 
the  work  on  the  house  was  completed  it  was  found  that  the  vote  was 
illegal ;  the  dissidents  subsequently  carried  the  day,  and  secured  the 
control  of  the  ministry  lot,  attempting  to  placate  Mr.  Glover  by  vot- 
ing him  £100  in  lieu  thereof.  This  was  not  so  blinding  an  offer  as 
might  at  first  appear,  seeing  that  the  inhabitants  were  far  in  arrears 
to  Mr.  Glover  on  his  regular  £80  stipend.  But  the  town-meeting  ac- 
companied the  appropriation  with  a  direction  to  the  deacons  to  col- 
lect the  ministry  rates  and  deliver  them  to  Mr.  Glover  personally. 
Peace  was  not  purchased  even  at  that  price  ;  they  were  subsequently 
(February,  1679)  burdening  themselves  with  material  for  fortifying 
Mr.  Glover's  house  against  the  Indians.  Mr.  Glover  proposed  an 
appeal  to  the  General  Court  to  determine  the  title  to  the  ministry 
house  and  lot,  which  was  agreed  to  ;  the   General  Court  (October, 

1681)  decided  that  the  property  belonged  to  Mr.  Glover,  and  that 
the  latter  should  be   paid  its    full   value  ;  the  town  offered  (March, 

1682)  to  give  Mr.  Glover  satisfaction  in  land  elsewhere  ;  but  this  not 
being  to  Mr.  Glover's  liking,  other  land  was  eventually  set  apart  for 
the  ministry  (1683)  by  the  dubious  vote  of  27  to  23  ;  and  thus  mat- 
ters stood  at  Mr.  Glover's  death  in  1692,  which  was  a  signal  for  an- 
other attack  upon  the  Glover  property.  Mr.  Glover's  son  stood  out 
as  best  he  could,  but  finally  gave  way.     He  offered  to  sell  for  £700  ; 


182  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


tliib  proposition  was  declined,  and  the  matter  was  given  out  to  arbi- 
tration, when  the  purchase  price  was  fixed  at  £350.  The  payment  of 
this  sum,  mainly  in  land,  was  another  source  of  trouble  ;  but  that 
does  not  concern  us.  The  town  had  attained  their  end,  and  estab- 
lished a  permanent  residence  for  the  minister,  whoever  he  might  be  ; 
but,  frankly,  the  means  employed  to  recover  the  house  of  Mr.  Glover 
was  no  credit  to  the  community.  Victory  Sikes  was  the  contractor 
of  the  house,  and  the  cost  was  about  £100. 

One  would  fancy  that  the  burdens  of  rebuilding  the  town  would 
have  crowded  the  matter  of  education  to  the  background.  It  cer- 
tainly did  not  crush  it  out.  In  1G77,  "  admittance  &  entertainment" 
was  granted  to  AVilliam  ^Madison,  schoolmaster,  "  he  taking  three 
pence  of  those  p  weeke  whom  he  teaches  to  read  English,  ^  four 
pence  p  weeke  of  those  he  teaches  both  to  read  &  write,  also  four 
pence  of  those  whom  he  teaches  writing  wholh^ :  the  Parents  or  Per- 
sons being  to  allow  not  more  :  But  the  Town  for  this  j^ear  as  an  en- 
couragment  to  Him  in  the  work  doe  agree  to  allow  him  y^  Rent  of  y^ 
Town  land  In  Chickupy."  Daniel  Benton  began  his  teaching  here  the 
year  following,  his  stipend  being  £20.  They  temporarily  set  apart 
the  "  watch  house  to  y^  New  meeting  house  "  for  his  school-room. 
Mr.  Benton  taught  domestics  as  well  as  children  at  this  time.  In 
June,  1679,  Thomas  Stebbins,  Jr.,  contracted  to  furnish  timber  for  a 
school-house,  22  x  17  feet,  framed,  clapboarded,  shingled,  and  fur- 
nished with  a  ''  mantle-tree  "  and  a  '^  rung  chimney."  A  court-house 
was  built  later.  That  was  the  order,  —  first  the  meeting-house,  then 
the  school-house,  and  finally  the  court-house.  It  had  been  voted  in  May 
of  1679  that "  there  should  be  an  house  erected  for  that  noble  designe 
&  use  of  Learning  the  youth  in  those  so  necessary  pieces  or  parts  of 
Learning  :  Videl :  reading  &  writing."  The  site  of  the  school-house 
was  subsequentl}^  ordered  to  be  ''  somewhere  in  the  lane  going  to  the 
upper  wharf e  "  (Cypress  street) .  The  watch-house  seemed  to  dis- 
appoint expectation,  and  the  schoolmaster  gathered  his  flock  of  chil- 
dren and  servants  in  Goodman  Mirrick's  house.     Goodwife  ^lirrick 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6.  183 


was  somewhat  of  a  teacher  herself.  When  the  frame  for  the  school- 
house  was  being  put  up,  all  the  young  men  to  be  found  assisted  at 
the  work,  after  which  they  repaired  to  Ely's  tavern.  The  town 
footed  the  bill.  John  Richards  was  schoolmaster  here  in  1683,  and 
two  years  later  the  town  bought  the  house  built  by  Edward  Stebbins, 
and  sold  to  Samuel  Ball  for  a  school-house.  Fines  were  imposed  for 
neglect  to  send  children  to  school,  and  all  were  enjoined  to  send  both 
children  and  servants.  The  County  Court  in  session  at  Springfield  in 
September,  1690,  entered  the  following:  — 

The  selectmen  of  the  town  of  Springfeild  being  presented  to  y^  Last  court  at 
Northampton  for  y^  want  of  a  School  to  teach  children  in  their  town  &  on  ap- 
pearing in  Court  &  informing  that  since  they  have  gott  an  able  schoolmaster  & 
that  ye  affairs  goe  on  to  advantage  soe  they  were  discharged. 

In  January,  1694,  the  town  empowered  the  selectmen  to  hire  the 
schoolmaster,  a  circumstance  worthy  of  note,  as  it  was  no  unusual 
thing  to  elevate  to  the  position  of  selectmen  men  who  could  not 
write.  Miles  :\rorgan  was  an  example.  His  "  mark  "  was  a  rudely 
drawn  anchor. 

Were  we  making  a  special  study  of  taxation  and  tlie  adjustment 
of  public  burdens,  much  iuteresting  matter  would  be  found  at  this 
period.  The  town's  "  country  "  tax  was  often  paid  in  corn,  it  being 
forwarded  in  1680  by  water  at  a  cost  of  about  £3.  It  seems  that  five 
years  later  money  was  insisted  upon  at  the  Bay  ;  but  Springfield  and 
Suffield  secured  a  special  permit  to  continue  to  pay  in  corn  at  a  re- 
duction of  one-third  of  its  market  value.  But  the  court,  in  granting 
this  concession,  took  occasion  to  rebuke  both  towns  for  '^  sundry 
expressions  "  in  their  petition  which  "  doe  deserve  sharpe  reproafe." 
Springfield  was  an  applicant  again  in  1684  for  a  corn-paid  tax,  and 
the  following  year  the  town  voted  :  — 

Whereas  the  Town  did  pass  a  Vote  to  pay  Sam"  BHsse  Jun^,  Constable  the 
Country    money  Eate  in  Corne  at  Country   price,   wth  an  addition  of  halfe  so 


184  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6. 

much  more,  &  accordingly  did  pay  the  money  Kate  to  s"^  Constable,  that  is  the 
Major  Part  of  the  Town  did  so  pay,  &  principally  in  Indian,  w^^'^  at  prsent  is 
extrearae  Low  at  the  Market :  It  is  voted  &  concluded  that  Each  man  do  again 
receiAe  his  Corne  paid  upon  s''  Account.  &  that  the  Town  Avill  save  harmless  said 
Constable  from  the  Country  treasurer  by  reason  of  any  Warrant  fro  him,  &  the 
Constable  to  appoint  to  redeliver  the  Corne  \^^  as  aforesd. 

The  county  continued  to  have  trouble  in  adjusting  its  tax  rates.  The 
tax-assessors  at  one  time  allowed  the  tax  to  dwindle  down  by  abusing 
their  prerogatives  in  striking  from  the  lists  men  in  ill-health  or 
extreme  poverty.  The  court  was,  in  consequence,  forced  to  order 
(1691)  that  "  all  y*"  rateable  heads  in  this  County  by  y*'  Selectmen  & 
Constable  in  y*"  severall  towns  bee  layed  upon  as  others  except  such 
as  are  verry  poor  &  impotent  that  be  at  the  selectmens  judgment  for 
the  discharging  of  the  sum  or  sums  of  money  or  other  pay,"  etc. 

The  smaller  towns  were  frequently  in  distress  about  the  way  the 
taxes  were  imposed.  Westfield  protested  (1()92)  against  its  public 
burdens,  but  the  County  Court  turned  a  deaf  ear.  Suffleld  was  un- 
easy under  a  land  tax  (1691),  and  the  court  included  cattle  and  per- 
sonal property ;  Sutfield  was  still  unhappy,  and  wanted  a  repeal  of 
the  order  (1692),  but  the  judges  would  not  yield.  The  court  at  this 
time  was  perplexed  about  a  highway  through  the  western  meadow 
across  Agawam  river  to  Suffield,  and  after  appointing  a  committee 
(1691)  from  the  various  towns  to  lay  out  the  road  expressed  a  hope 
that  this  would  be  the  last  heard  of  the  dispute.  At  this  session  also 
a  ferry  was  established  over  the  Connecticut,  *'  against  y''  house 
of  J  no  Alline  of  Suffleld,"  the  latter  to  be  ferr^'uiau,  and  to  charge 
4c?.  per  horse  and  2cl.  per  man  as  toll.  The  County  Court  by  this  time 
had  become  the  dispenser  of  liquor  licenses,  the  licenses  being  granted 
upon  recommendation  of  the  selectmen  of  the  various  towns.  The 
court  kept  a  sharp  eye  u^jon  these  taverns,  and  it  is  sad  to  relate  that 
Nathaniel  Ely  was  a  sufferer  thereby.  Having  been  convicted  of 
selling  cider  to  the  Indians,  it  was  recorded  (1681)  :  "The  Courte 
taking  notice  of  his   Ingenuity  in  Confessing   his  fault  &  being  de- 


SrRIXGFIELD,    J6S6-1S86.  185 


siroiis  to  enconrige  others  to  such  ingenuit}^  doe  Dot  fine  hmi ;  "  but 
they  admouished  him  to  do  better.  Ten  years  later  Springfield  desh-ed 
another  retailer  of  strong  drink,  and  Lu!:e  Hitchcock  secured  the 
privilege,  on  condition  that  he  refrain  from  selling  to  "  children, 
servants  &  extravagant  Persons,  &  expecting  &  requiring  that  he 
take  effectual  care  that  no  customer  do  git  tippling  in  his  house  &  be 
circumspect  to  prevent  al  abuses  of  the  creature/'  Sanniel  Bliss  was 
also  in  court  for  selling  Avithout  a  license.  Speaking  of  drunkenness 
at  this  time,  the  judges  remarked,  "  av^''  sin  abounds."  John  Dor- 
chester offered,  in  1684,  to  act  as  ferryman  upon  condition  that  he 
be  allowed  to  sell  strong  drink  and  be  freed  from  military  training. 
This  was  not  granted  him.     The  ferry  Avas  opposite  his  own  lot. 

Cases  of  Sabbath-breaking  continued  to  appear.  One  offender 
was  discovered  emerging  from  the  Avoods  with  a  deer  on  his  horse  one 
Sabbath  afternoon,  and  he  ansAvered  for  the  offence  before  the  solemn 
justices.  Another  man  Avas  presented  at  the  court  "  for  Neglecting 
y*^  Publique  "Worship  of  God  &  hee  Petitioning  this  court  pleading 
his  sickness  Weakness  and  Avant  of  Cloaths  this  Cold  Winter  this 
court  ordered  y^  the  Avorshipful  Coll  Pynchon  to  send  for  him  before 
him  &  admonish  him,"  etc. 

Here  are  added  tAvo  extracts  from  the  county  records  of  special 
cases.     The  first  is  dated  September,  1685  :  — 

Mark  Gregory,  one  of  y*^  Robbers  that  were  soe  troublesome  &  injurious  to 
this  Countie  hist  summer  appeareing  in  this  Courte  &  it  being  evident  that  diverse 
charges  are  to  be  satisfyed  for  by  sd  Gregory  viz  30s  to  M^.  PeUvtia  Glover  Jur  for 
the  cureing  of  his  wounded  heade  &  2£  12s  to  Fearenot  King  for  sundry  things 
stolen  out  of  his  house  &  to  diverse  other  persons  thier  charges,  this  Ceurte 
being  desirous  to  use  all  encourageing  Clemency  tc  s'^  Gregory  have  adjudged 
sayd  Robber  Mark  Gregory  to  be  sold  for  12£  to  defray  such  charges  or  damages 
as  he  hath  occasioned,  etc. 

The  second  extract  is  from  the  record  of  the  County  Court  held  at 
Springfield  in  September,  1691  :  — 


186  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6. 

In  Sept  Court  1691  at  Springfield  Michal  Towsley  &  Mary  his  Wife  &  their 
(laughter  Mary  being  all  presented  to  this  Courte  for  diverse  missdemeanors  & 
all  appearing  and  each  of  them  haveing  beene  examined  before  the  Worship'^ 
CoU'^  P\'nchon  &  the  diverss  examinations,  witnessess  &  testimonys  being  read  in 
Courte,  the  Courte  doe  judge  them  all  to  be  guiltie  accordding  to  y*^  Respective 
testimonys  of  the  crimes  Avitnessed  against  them  viz  of  lying  of  stealing  &  of 
killing  creatures  or  some  creatures  of  some  Neighbors  &  of  threatening  some 
of  tlieir  neighbors  or  expressing  such  things  as  that  their  Neighbors  are  afraide 
of  grievious  Mischiefs  to  be  done  to  y'^  by  ye  s^  presented  partys.  This  Courte 
there  fore  to  Beare  due  Witness  against  such  Spitefull,  dangerous  &  to  be  ab- 
horred practices  due  ajudge  as  ffolloweth,  &  first  since  they  finde  y^  y^  Daughter 
named  Mary  is  guiltie  of  lying  especially  in  that  she  charged  her  father  before 
authoritie  as  killing  &  stealing  &  teaching  her  to  steale  &  againe  denying  her 
confession  before  this  Courte,  the  Courte  do  adjudge  her  to  be  well  whipt  on 
y^  Naked  Body  Avith  eight  lashes  Avell  laid  on  &  otherwise  the  Courte  doe  order 
yt  the  Selectmen  of  Suffield  doe  take  effectaal  care  to  have  s^'  Mary  put  out  to 
some  meete  person  to  service  with  whome  she  may  be  Avell  educated  the  child 
herself  saying  that  she  cant  doe  better  or  reform  while  she  continues  with  her 
parents  or  father ;  &  as  to  y^  Woeman  wife  of  s^  Townsley  the  Courte  doe  finde 
her  Guiltie  of  desperate  speaches  &  threatening  burning  to  her  Neighbors  to  the 
great  disquietude  of  y'"  &  doe  ajudge  her  to  be  Avell  whipt  on  y^  Naked  Back 
Avith  ten  lashes.  And  to  Michael  Townsley  this  Courte  finds  him  Guiltie  of  felo- 
nious practices  taking  away  his  neighbors  goods  and  in  particular  killing  some 
swine  or  one  swine  at  Least  this  Courte  doe  adjudge  him  to  be  well  Avhipt  on  y^ 
naked  Body  with  15  lashes  &  that  he  pay  all  charges  respecting  y^  prosecuting 
him  for  his  heyneous  crimes  &  particularly  y*  he  pay  James  King  20s  &  EdAvard 
Burlinson  20s  &  y'' Courte  further  ajudge  the  s^^  Michael  ToAvnsley  &  Mary  his 
Avife  to  be  bound  in  y^  sum  of  ten  pounds  apiece  for  their  good  behavior  during 
the  pleasure  of  the  Courte. 

There  was  just  one  local  touch  of  witchcraft  which  at  this  time 
was  settling  like  a  black  cloud  on  the  eastern  shores  of  the  colon3^ 
Mary  Randolph,  of  Northampton,  was  put  under  bonds  to  appear  and 
answer  the  charge  of  being  a  witch ;  but  this  is  the  last  that  was 
heard  of  her  case.  There  are  occasional  references  to  slaves.  One, 
known  as  "  Jack,"  escaped  from  Wethersfield,  was  caught  and 
lodged  in  the  Springfield  jail  in  1680. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


187 


Nathaniel  Burt,  of  the  board  of  selectmen  of  1678,  resigned  in  July 
because  he  was  not  a  freeman,  and  his  l)rother,  Jonathan  Burt,  was 
chosen  in  his  place.  The  record  as  to  this  matter  begins  :  "It  was 
pprounded  y'  being  some  scruple  made  concerning  the  Selectmen's 
Acts,  because  the  Major  part  of  y"^  are  not  freemen  according  to 
order,  Avhether  y*'  Town  would  not  rectify  y''  same." 

The  General  Court,  ui  obedience  to  the  royal  proclamation  of 
April  27,  1678,  ordering  all  subjects  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance, 
directed  the  various  magistrates  to  administer  \  it  forthwith  ;  accord- 
ingly John  Pynchon  performed  that  duty  to  the  following  inhabitants 
of  Springfield  on  December  3,  1678,  and  January  1,  1670  :  — 


Pelatiah  Glover, 
Robert  Ashley, 
Samuel  Marshfield, 
Benjamin  Parsons,  Jr.. 
Lieut.  Thomas  Stebbint 
John  Lamb, 
Japhet  Chapin, 
Thomas  Day. 
John  Stewart. 
Samuel  Bliss, 
John  Scott, 
Jonathan  Ashley, 
James  Dorchester, 
Joseph  Leman. 
Thomas  Colton, 
Nathaniel  Sikes, 
John  Bagg, 
John  Barber.  Jr., 
William  Brook, 
Samuel  Bliss, 
Edward  Stebbius, 


John  Holyoke. 
George  Colton, 
Thomas  Mirrick, 
Jonathan  Burt, 
Miles  Morgan, 
William  Branch, 
Nathaniel  Burt, 
Samuel  Eh  , 
James  Warriner. 
Jonathan  Taylor, 
John  Ha r man, 
Joseph  Ashley. 
Thomas  Cooper, 
Isaac  Colton, 
Increase  Sikes, 
James  Sikes, 
Obadiah  Miller, 
Charles  Ferry, 
John  Matthews. 
Thomas  Stebbins, 
Benjamin  Stebbins, 


Daniel  Denton, 
Anthony  Dorchester, 
John  Duml)leton, 
Rowland  Thomas, 
Henry  Chapin, 
John  Clark, 
Rice  Bedortha, 
Nathaniel  Pritchard, 
John  Hitchcock, 
John  Bliss, 
John  Petty, 
John  Dorchester, 
Edward  Foster, 
Ephraim  Colton, 
Victory  Sikes, 
John  Riley, 
John  Barber, 
Samuel  Ferry, 
Abel  Wright, 
Joseph  Stebbins. 


In  order  to  avoid  disputes  about  laud  titles  a  vote  was  passed  in 
January,  1685,  that    "  al  former  grants  of  Land  w"Hu  this  Township 


1^^  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-2886. 


of  Springtield  to  each  &  every  singular  Person  in  this  Town  have 
been,  were  &  are  to  them  &  their  heirs  for  ever."  This  was  passed 
in  order  to  put  the  town  grants  upon  the  same  legal  basis  as  a  deed. 
This  was  a  death-blow  to  the  system  of  land  communism. 

After  many  disagreements,  Springfield  and  Northampton,  in  April, 
1685,  settled  upon  a  pine-tree  south  of  Stony  Brook  near  the  "  upper 
greate  Falls  "  about  forty  rods  from  the  river  to  mark  the  east  and 
west  line  between  the  towns.  The  tree  was  inscribed  with  an  "  SP,'* 
''  Nt,"  and  an  "A,"  and  was  long  known  as  the  "Accord  Tree." 
By  the  colony  records  we  learn  that  the  line,  by  agreement,  ran  to  the 
"  great  barr  of  the  ffalls,  —  that  is,  about  the  first  great  barr,  —  next 
to  Northampton."  From  here  the  line  ran  west  two  and  a  half  miles, 
south  half  a  mile,  thence  west  to  a  point  nine  miles  from  the  river. 
Northampton  was  given  liberty  to  fish  at  the  "  lower  great  fall,  in  the 
Springfield  bounds,  without  any  molestation  from  Springfeild  men," 
as  well  as  use  of  the  highway  to  the  boating-place  below  the  falls. 

In  February,  1685,  there  was  a  general  apportionment  of  lands  on 
account  of  an  extra  land-grant  by  the  General  Court.  Liberal 
amounts  were  first  reserved  for  the  ministry  and  the  schools.  Mr. 
Glover  was  remembered  in  the  list  of  apportionments.  The  land  was 
made  up  in  divisions,  and  it  was  ordered  that  it  "  shal  be  by  Casting 
of  Lots."  The  land  divisions  were  by  estates  and  polls,  wliich  were 
"  esteemed  In  the  Rate  at  twelve  pounds  p  Pole  &  that  al  Male  chil- 
dren under  age  be  valued  as  Ratable  Poles  :  viz  :  12£  p  Pole."  The 
list  of  lots,  including  the  portions  for  the  ministry  and  the  school, 
comprised  125  names.  This  is  known  to  the  surveyors  as  the  "  Out- 
ward commons." 

The  license  for  the  "fishing  Places  on  Agawam  River  &  Chi- 
kuppi  River"  were  given  in  1685  to  Deacon  Burt,  Miles  Morgan, 
Thomas  Mirrick,  and  several  others.  In  1687  Henry  Chapin  headed 
the  list  of  those  specially  pri%ileged  to  fish  m  Chicopee  river  so  far  as 
"  Schonungonuek  fal  or  Bar."  They  could  make  also  "  Wards  for 
catching  of  Fish."     Henry  Chapin's    brother  Japhet  was   interested 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6.  189 


with  John  Hitchcock,  Nathaniel  Foot,  and  others,  in  a  saw-mill 
which  the  town  authorized  them  to  build  at  Schouungonuck  falls, 
^'provided  they  came  not  on  y"  Town  side  of  a  straight  Line  drawn 
from  the  Head  of  Hog  pen  dingil  to  dirty  Gutter." 

There  were  scores  of  minor  doings  touching  town  affairs,  the  nar- 
ration of  which  would  prevent  a  reference  to  more  important  matters. 
Every  mhabitant  was  required  (1680)  to  keep  at  least  three  sheep. 
No  one  could  employ  an  Indian  on  his  farm  (1686)  without  a  special 
permit.  The  premium  was  finally  (1688)  taken  off  of  wolves  and 
put  upon  bears,  which  had  been  making  sad  work  with  the  swine. 
The  selectmen  were  authorized  to  choose  hay  wards  in  1684,  as  well 
as  a  ferryman  ;  and  in  the  following  year  they  were  prohibited  from 
making  any  public  contract  above  £20,  without  consulting  the  town. 
A  fine  was  imposed  upon  persons  who  prepared  tar  not  "  marchant- 

able." 

The  accession  of  William  and  Mary  to  the  throne  of  Great  Britain, 
in  1689,  precipitated  a  war  with  France.  The  French,  aided  by 
many  Indians,  made  excursions  into  New  England,  and  King  William's 
war,  which  in  reality  began  before  the  death  of  King  James,  was  at- 
tended by  many  harrying  scenes.  In  the  latter  part  of  July,  1688, 
five  friendly  Indians  were  killed  at  Spectacle  pond,  about  ten  miles 
east  of  Springfield.  Deeds  of  blood  were  also  reported  up  the  river, 
and  toward  the  east.  John  Pynchon  was  kept  pretty  busy  sending 
aid  to  exposed  points,  as  the  following  entries  made  by  him  show  :  — 

Aug.  17,  1G88.     Being  y'^  same  day  y'  tidings  came  to  me  which  was  yt  North- 
field  A^as  invaded,  I  sent  Post  to  Quabaug.  viz.   Tho.  Powell -which  is  2  days  & 

Horse. 

Aug.  17.     I  sent  away  Lieut.  Tho.  Colton  with  IG  soldiers  from  Springfield  to 
Northfield,  to  surprise  &  take  y^  Indians  &  pursue  y'"  etc,  who  were  upon  y«  ser- 
vice 6  days  -  which  is  96  days  96  horses. 
The  Lieut,  is  besides  himself  &  Horse  6     '^       6 
Aug.  19.     I  sent  6  men  Quabaug,  y«  people  there  being  about  to  remove,  or- 
dering^and  requiring  their  continuance,  only  I  sent  to  fetch  ofe  such  women  as 


190  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

desired  to  come  away.  The  men  sent  were  Tho.  Powell,  Eben  GraAes,  John 
Stiles,  James  Petty,  Joseph  Petty  &  Tho.  Gilbert,  who  were  in  y^  service  2  days 
apiece  and  horses 

Avhich  is  12  days  12  horses. 

I  sent  2  lbs.  Powder  &  6  lbs.  Bullets  to  Quabaug. 

Aug.  3.  Hezekia  Dickinson  Post  from  Brookfield  with  Caj)t.  Nicholson's  sec- 
ond letter :  one  day  coming  Oif  one  day  back,  &  y*^  extremity  of  y^  wet  made 
it  a  day  more,  so  he  is  to  be  allowed  for  his  horse  &  himself 

which  is         3  days  3  Horses. 

Sept.  4.  To  entertaining  a  Post,  and  to  quartering  of  tAvo  soldiers  sent  from 
Quabaug  for  provisions,  them  selves  and  horses. 

Sept.  5.  I  sent  to  Quabaug  5  bushels  of  Indian  corn  etc.  Sent  two  firelock 
guns  to  Quabaug  etc. 

Sept.  11.  Joseph  Marks  Avas  ordered  to  Northfield  for  1  Aveek,  &  Avith  4  fire- 
lock guns. 

Pynchon,  ten  days  later,  seuta  company,  nnder  command  of  Henry 
Gilbert,  to  the  relief  of  Brookfield,  with  provisions  and  arms. 

Early  in  October  Sir  Edmund  Andros  started  from  New  York  for 
Boston,  Avhere  he  Avas  destined  to  have  a  taste  of  what  an  American 
crowd  with  a  notion  of  colonial  rights  could  do  when  put  to  it.  John 
Pynchon  had  held  for  nearly  three  years  the  position  of  counsellor  by 
Andros's  appointment,  and  Sir  Edmund  arrived  at  Springfield  about 
the  12th  of  the  month.  There  was  a  conference  between  the  two 
men,  but  nothing  is  known  of  the  business  transacted  between  them. 
Sir  Edmund  visited  Northampton  before  proceeding  to  Boston  and 
his  fate. 

We  will  speak  presently  of  John  Pynchon's  negotiations  with  the 
Indians,  but  will  here  mention  that  his  past  experience  as  a  negotiator 
caused  his  selection  to  head  a  commission  to  visit  Albany  and  ar- 
range a  treaty  with  the  Macquas.  The  party,  ten  in  number,  left  for 
the  spot  in  August,  1689,  and  were  gone  one  month.  A  treaty  was 
duly  made. 

Another  invasion  of  the  Canadian  French  and  Indians,  in  New  Eng- 
land, in  the  summer  of  1693,  threw  western  Massachusetts   into   a 


SPRINGFIELD,    1 636-1886. 


191 


state  of  excitement  again.      Six  persons  were  massacred  by  the  In- 
dians, at  Brookfield,  July  27.     John  Lawrence  started  for  Springfield 
with  the  news,  arriving  there  late   that   very   night.     John  Pynchon 
remained  up  all  night,  and  by  morning  had  a  force  of   twenty-eight 
troopers,  under  the  command  of  Captain  Colton,  on  the  road  to  Brook- 
field.      Soldiers  from  up  the  river  followed  later  in  the  day.     Colton 
started  north  in  hot  pursuit  from  Brookfield,  through  thick  forests 
and  marshes,  and  in  his  eagerness  finally  selected  a  score  of  good 
fighters,  lea^4ng  the  rest  to  bring  on  the  exchanged  horses,  and  over- 
took the  savages  at  breakfast.     He  made   the  attack ;  killed  half  a 
dozen  or  more,  and  captured  nine  guns,  twenty  hatchets,    and   about 
twenty  horns  of  powder,   as  well   as   recovering   a  captive  man  and 
woman.     Although  Mr.  Pynchon  in  his  official  report  said  of  this 
exploit,   "  'Tis  God,  not  our  20  men,  that  hath  done  it,"  it  will  not 
be  amiss  to  say  that  Captain  Thomas  Colton,  with  almost  an  Indian's 
instinct  in  following  trails,  and  indomitable  pluck,  was  a  worthy  in- 
strument in  the  hands  of  Providence  in  saving  the  town  from  greater 
disaster.     The  plunder  was  divided  among  Colton's  men,   the   State 
adding  £1  for  each  soldier,  and  £10  to  the  valiant  Captain,   in  recog- 
nition^ of  ser^'ices  rendered.      It  is   said  that   an  Indian   in   ambush 
once  took  aim  at  Colton,  but  finally  concluded  not  to  shoot,  fearing 
that  he  might  not  hit  the  Captain,  and  thus  be  despatched  himself  in 
short  order. 

Just  before  this  fight  two  Indians  in  the  prison-house  at  Spring- 
field, situated  on  the  main  street,  made  good  then-  escape,  to  the  as- 
tonishment of  every  one.  Pynchon  sent  out  twenty  men  m  fruitless 
pursuit.  These  Indians  were  from  Deerfield,  where  they  had  com- 
mitted murder.  They  had,  in  some  way,  secured  a  file,  and  the 
clever  manner  in  which  they  cut  their  handcuffs  and  gained  their 
liberty  was  the  talk  of  the   village  for  some  time. 

Pynchon  kept  a  garrison  at  Deerfield  and  Brookfield  for  some 
time.  In  December,  1694,  he  wrote  Isaac  Addington,  a  member  of 
the  Council  at  Boston,  about  "  continuing  or  quitting  y^  garrisons  at 


1^2  SPRINGFIELD,    I6S6-I886. 


Dearefeild  and  Brookefeild,"  saying,  "I  am  loath  upon  my  owne 
head  to  discharge  y'",  least  —  If  anything  fal  out  not  well  I  should 
deservedly  be  Blamed." 

In  March,  1695,  Pynchon  learned  that  the  Governor  had  deter- 
mined to  withdraw  the  soldiers  from  Deerfield.  This  caused  great 
uneasiness  ;  and,  in  a  letter  to  Lieutenant-Governor  Stoughton  (now  m 
the  possession  of  Charles  P.  Greenough,  of  Boston),  Pynchon  explains 
the  danger,  and  adds:  "I  have  therefore  ordered  Capt  Partrig  & 
Capt  Clap  out  of  Those  2  Towns  viz  Northampton,  o.  &  Hatfeild,  3. 
to  make  a  Present  supply  &  assistance  to  DearefeUd  upon  U  Holis- 
ter's  drawing  of  his  men,  If  they  wil  not  stay  Longer  w^^^  I  have 
motioned  &  desire,  but  almost  despaire  of  it.  .  .  .  Dearefeild 
being  a  large  Fortification  cannot  wel  be  secured  under  32  men,  w^^^ 
are  more  then  can  wel  be  afforded  out  of  this  Regimt  &  to  many  m  my 
opinion,  so  f  I  humbly  offer  it  agame  to  y^  Honors  consideration  & 
resolve  of  sending  some  men  from  y""  more  Plentiful  pts,  &  y-  supply- 
ing &  securing  of  Brookf eild  who  also  have  been  minding  me  of  their 
need  of  some  help  now  spedyly."  He  soon  writes  agaui  m  his  anxiety 
for  Brookfield  :  — 

To  Lieut  Gov  X  Stocghtox 

Springfeikl  March  22^1  169^ 
Honb^k  sr 

I  have  already  trebled  y  Honor  to  much  wth  my  scrawls,  having  (besides 
former  lines)  writ  two  letters  of  this  import  wth  in  a  Fortnight,  so  yt  I  am  asliame 
to  Inculcate  ye  same  thing.  But  ye  Importunity  of  my  neighbors  at  Brookfeild 
who  are  now  at  ray  house.  Three  of  them  overcome  me  &  enforces  me  (at  this 
time)  to  lay  these  lines  before  you,  in  their  behalf  only,  whom  (if  they  may  not 
draw  off)  are  irgent  for  speedy  succours  by  men  Placed  there  for  their  security, 
reckening  themselves  in  apparent  hassard  of  ye  enemy  &  fearing  their  app^ch 
every  day,  now  ye  weather  is  open,  &  truly  I  am  sensible  yt  ye  enemy  may 
have  spite  at  ye  place,  &  that  they  may  need  men  there  out  of  hand  :  wc^  though 
they  Importune  my  sending  now  along  w^h  ym,  yet  I  decline  it  for  present,  hav^e- 
ing  applied  to  y  Honor  for  y^  direction  &  orders,  weh  waiting  for.  I  acco*  it  not 
Prudence  to  anticipate  or  act  upon  my  owne  head  wthout  ye  same,  since  as  I 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6.  193 


have  requested,  so  I  am  in  expectation  of  y'  more  judicious  determination  there- 
abouts, concerning  av^i  I  crave  leave  to  say  upon  most  serious  thoughts  (&  dis- 
course wt'i  y^'  Quaboug  men)  that  such  a  number  as  may  maintaine  y''  Place  & 
secure  y'",  is  needful,  &  whether  less  then  men  with  a  good  discreate  commander 
may  be  sufficient  for  y^  Purpose  If  an  enymy  assault  y"^  deserves  due  con- 
sideration wich  is  wf'  y  Honor  to  conclud  &  direct  in,  &  what  ever  that  way 
comes  to  me,  fro  y  honor,  I  shal  Indeavor  my  best  attendance  unto,  adding  only 
yt  for  y  Omitting  of  y™  at  Quaboug  I  have  told  y'"  y*  I  hope  they  wil  have  men 
sent  y"i  &  a  Garrison  started  there  by  y^  begining  of  April  fro  those  pts  By  y 
Honors  Countenance  &  authority,  w^^  is  as  much  — If  not  to  much  as  ai  present 
is  needful,     from 

Y'  Honors  humble  Servt 

John  Pynchon 

In  a  fortnight  Pynchon  writes  that  the  Brookfield  men  desire  that 
"  my  son  may  be  the  commander,  &  set  over  y^  Garrison  there," 
which  request  is  a  "  surprise  "  which  "  startles  "  him. 

Peace  was  not  decLared  between  England  and  France  until  1697, 
and  it  was  sometime  later  when  hostilities  ceased  in  the  New  World. 
Armed  men  were  stationed  in  each  town  to  defend  them  in  case  of 
attack.  "We  know  Indians  are  lurking  about,"  writes  Pynchon  in 
September,  1695,  "  for  besides  some  seen  at  Northampton,  as  also  at 
Hadley,  there  have  been  some  about  Springfeild  :  tmce  one  hath  been 
seen.  But,  upon  any  appearance,  we  range  all  the  woods  about : 
besides  that,  our  daily  scouting  out  4  men  aday  on  horses  by  Towns," 
etc.  And  this  state  of  things  continued  even  after  the  mother 
countries  had  returned  to  the  paths  of  peace. 

The  death  of  Rev.  Pelatiah  Glover,  in  March,  1692,  left  the  Spring- 
field pulpit  vacant  for  two  years.  Every  effort  was  made  to  secure 
Rev.  John  Hayues,  but  without  success,  except  for  a  few  months  ; 
and  in  November,  1693,  Captain  Thomas  Colton  and  Sergeant  Luke 
Hitchcock  were  ordered  to  go  to  the  Bay  to  see  Rev.  Increase  Mather, 
president  of  the  '•  colledg,"  and  the  '•  reverend  elders  "  at  Boston,  as 
to  a  minister.  In  January,  1694,  it  was  voted  to  offer  Rev.  Daniel 
Brewer  £70  a  year  and  use  of  the  ministry  property,  and  in  May  Mr. 


194  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


Brewer  began  his  ministry.      He  was  barely  twenty-five,    and  was 
from  Roxbur}^ 

The  strife  between  the  town  and  the  son  of  Pelatiah  Glover  did 
not  end  in  any  loss  of  respect  on  either  part,  as  the  son  appears  as  a 
selectman  in  1694,  the  others  being  John  Dorchester,  Joseph  Steb'Oins, 
Nathaniel  Bliss,  and  David  Morgan.  The  town  clerk  was  John  Hoi- 
yoke,  and  the  constables  were  James  Warriner  and  Henry  Burt. 

The  selectmen  had  been  empowered  to  nominate  moderators  at  the 
town-meeting,  and  among  the  new  offices  that  had  crept  into  the  town 
system  were  a  sealer  of  leather,  a  clerk  of  the  market,  and  a  packer, 
ganger,  and  culler. 

The  plantation  of  Springfield  had  been  for  a  long  time  foster- 
ing settlements,  which  were  gradually  growing  m  importance. 
The  southern  belt  of  the  old  limits  of  Springfield  was  destined  to 
be  cut  up  into  towns.  Suffield,  now  a  part  of  Connecticut,  was  first 
known  as  Stony  Brook  (1660),  then  Southfield  (1670),  then  Suffield 
(1674).  It  was  in  1670  that  Captain  Pynchon,  Elizur  Holyoke,  Lieu- 
tenant Cooper,  Quartermaster  Colton,  p:nsign  Cooley,  and  Rowland 
Thomas  were  chosen  a  committee  to  lay  out  the  site  of  Suffield  for  set- 
tlement. This  committee  furnished  the  usual  rules  for  plantations,  with 
which  the  reader  is  familiar.  The  Indian  wars  interrupted  the  plan  of 
settlement,  but  the  work  of  taking  up  hind  was  renewed  after  the 
declaration  of  peace,  and  in  October,  1681,  the  Springfield  committee 
was  authorized  by  the  Massachusetts  General  Court  to  convene  the 
qualified  voters,  and  to  organize  a  town;  the  last  meeting  of  the 
provisional  committee  was  on  January  2,  1682.  Major  John  Pynchon 
conveyed  the  Indian  title  to  the  inhabitants  for  £40,  in  1684,  which 
was  £10  more  than  he  had  given  the  Indians.  Several  members  of 
Springfield  provisional  committee  received  lands  in  Suffield  in  pa}^- 
ment  for  their  services  in  organizing  the  plantation. 

The  great  island  m  the  Connecticut  at  Enfield  Falls  was  given  to 
Rev.  Ephraim  Huit,  of  Windsor,  who  at  his  death  returned  it,  and  in 
1681   Massachusetts  gave    it  to  John  Pynchon.     In  1713,  when  it 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  195 

was  arranged  that  Massachusetts  should  retain  jurisdiction  over 
Suffield,  Enfield,  etc.,  the  southern  boundary  of  Suffleld  was  con- 
sidered the  colony  line,  and  Massachusetts  deeded  105,793  acres  of 
wild  land  in  Pelham,  Belchertown,  and  Ware  in  reparation.  Con- 
necticut sold  this  tract  in  1716  for  £683,  and  gave  £500  of  it  to  Yale 
College. 

Before  describing  the  cause  of  the  little  break  in  the  boundary  be- 
tween Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  it  will  be  more  convenient  to 
speak  of  the  settlement  at  Enfield,  directly  south  of  Springfield.  In 
1674  a  committee,  consisting  of  John  Pynchon,  Samuel  Marshfield, 
Thomas  Stebbins,  Jonathan  Burt,  and  Benjamm  Parsons,  were  ap- 
pointed to  apportion  lands  about  Freshwater  Brook.  The  Indian 
title  was  extinguished  in  1680,  by  the  payment  of  £25  to  Totaps, 
alias  Nottatuck,  the  sachem.  The  land  ran  from  ''  Asnuntuck,  alias 
Freshwater  river,  on  the  north,  down  southward  along  by  Connecti- 
cut River  side,  about  three  or  four  miles,  to  the  brook  below  the  bed 
of  stones,  wdiich  brook  is  called  by  the  Indians  Poggotossur,  and  by 
the  English  Saltonstalls  Brook,  and  so  from  the  mouth  of  said  Sal- 
tonstalls  alias  Poggotossur,  to  run  from  the  great  river  Connecticut 
directly  east,  eight  full  and  complete  miles  to  the  mountains."  The 
part  of  p]nfield  north  of  Freshwater  river  had  been  previously  bought 
of  the  Indians,  none  of  whom  lived  inside  the  purchase.  The  land 
granted  by  Springfield  near  Freshwater  river  had  not  been  occupied 
up  to  this  time.  In  answer  to  a  petition  submitted  to  the  Massachu- 
setts General  Court  in  1683,  this  '^end"  of  Springfield  was  erected 
into  a  town  under  the  name  of  Enfield  ;  and  the  above  committee, 
headed  by  John  Pynchon,  was  authorized  to  manage  the  town  atf airs, 
until  further  notice.  This  committee  delegated  selectmen's  powers  to 
John  Pease,  Isaac  Meacham,  Jr.,  and  Isaac  Morgan  in  1684,  by 
which  device  home  rule  was  practicall}^  vouchsafed  to  the  new  planta- 
tion. Andros  refused  to  ratify  this  arrangement,  and  Enfield  there- 
upon assumed  charge  of  its  own  affairs.  A  town-meeting  was  held 
in  1688,  but  after  the  downfall  of  Andros  the  original  Springfield 


196  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1S86. 


provisional  committee  resumed  its  f mictions  over  Enfield.  In  1692 
this  committee,  or  rather  John  Pynchon  and  Jonathan  Burt,  its  onl}^ 
surviving  members,  surrendered  the  books  and  records  to  Enfield, 
with  their  best  wishes  for  the  success  of  the  new  town. 

In  October,  1684,  John  P3mchon  had  granted  to  Isaac  Meacham 
the  privilege  of  building  a  fullmg-mill  at  the  mouth  of  Freshwater 
brook,  a  part  of  the  consideration  being  the  "  yearly  wel  fulling  & 
thickening  of  five  and  twentie  yards  of  Cloth." 

The  survey  of  the  boundary  line  between  the  two  colonies,  made  in 
1642,  and  known  as  the  Woodward  and  Saffery  line,  placed  Enfield  in 
Massachusetts.  In  1648  Massachusetts  ordered  that  all  the  land  east 
of  the  river  at  a  point  twenty  poles  below  the  warehouse  belonged  to 
Springfield.  It  was  many  years  before  the  dispute  as  to  jurisdiction 
was  settled.  In  1713  it  was  agreed  that  each  colony  should  retain 
jurisdiction  over  the  towns  they  had  settled,  and  that  the  boundary 
should  run  due  west  from  the  Connecticut  river,  from  the  Wood- 
ward and  Saffery  line,  and  that  reparation  should  be  made  by  con- 
veying by  deed  unimproved  lands,  in  cases  where  one  colony  gained 
from  the  other.  It  was  found  that  Massachusetts  had  appropriated 
over  100,000  acres  of  Connecticut  lands  by  this  survey.  The  survey 
was  wrong,  but  Massachusetts  paid  upon  that  basis  for  many  years. 
The  towns  of  Woodstock,  Somers,  Suffield,  and  Enfield  continued  to 
protest  against  being  under  the  Massachusetts  jurisdiction,  and  even 
appealed  to  the  king  ;  they  finally  gained  their  point. 

H.  S.  Sheldon,  of  Suffield,  speaking  of  the  break  in  the  boundary', 
as  appears  now  upon  the  map,  says  :  — 

Simsburv  and  Westfield  retained  their  ancient  boundaries,  being  first  incor- 
porated, leaA^ng  west  of  the  mountain  a  strip  of  land  about  one  mile  in  Avidth  be- 
tween the  two.  for  Suffield.  Our  proprietors  mourned  the  loss  of  that  part  of 
their  grant  secured  by  Simsbury,  as  it  was  supposed  to  be  rich  in  mines  of 
copper  and  iron.  They  were  consoled  by  the  Massachusetts  Court,  in  1732, 
granting  them  a  township  six  miles  square  (now  Blandford)  as  an  equivalent. 
They  sold  it  to  Christopher  J.  Lawton,  of  Suffield,  receiving  but  little  therefor. 


SPRINGFIELD.    1636-1886.  197 


Our  bounds,  with  Simsbury  (now  East  Granby  and  Granby),  settled  in  1713,  and 
perambulated  in  1734,  were  reestablished  in  1883.  That  part  of  Westfield  pro- 
jectin,^  into  Connecticut  between  the  top  of  the  mountain  and  the  ponds  was  an- 
nexed to  Suffield  and  Connecticut  in  1803.  The  remainder  (now  SouthAvick), 
containing  the  ponds,  is  in  Massachusetts,  causing  the  curious  notch  in  the 
boundary  line  between  the  two  States. 

BriDitield  was  settled  mainly  by  Springfield  people.  Colonel  Pyn- 
chon  headed  a  provisional  committee  appointed  by  the  General  Conrt 
in  1701  to  lay  out  the  town  of  Brimfield,  and  this  committee,  accom- 
panied by  a  party  of  twenty  Springfield  men,  soon  after  visited  the 
place  for  the  purpose  of  settling  upon  a  house  plot ;  but  nothing  defi- 
nite was  decided  upon.  After  Pynchon's  death  his  son  John  took  his 
place  upon  the  pro^^sional  committee.  The  town  was  not  incorpo- 
rated until  1731. 

We  have  spoken  of  the  part  taken  by  Springfield  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  a  town  at  Brookfield.  The  Indian  wars  broke  up  the  settle- 
ment for  a  time.  In  1686  we  find  John  Pynchon  once  more  at  the 
head  of  a  provisional  committee  to  manage  the  town  affairs  at  Brook- 
field,  and  they  apportioned  land  the  following  spring. 

West  Springfield  had  in  1695  thirty-five  families,  numbering  two 
hundred  and  ten  souls.  The  first  petition  from  the  west  side  for  a 
minister  was  signed  by  John  Dumbleton,  John  Barber,  and  Josiah 
Marshfield  ;  but  nothing  came  of  it.  Upon  the  renewal  of  the  peti- 
tion in  1696  a  distinct  disavowal  of  a  determination  to  become  a  sep- 
arate town  was  made.  It  was  signed  by  John  Barber,  Benjamin 
Leonard,  Joseph  Leonard,  Jonathan  Ball,  Joseph  Bedortha,  Nathaniel 
Dumbleton,  Ebenezer  Jones,  Josiah  Marshfield,  Isaac  Frost,  and 
Thomas  Cooper.  The  latter,  a  large  tax-payer,  left  Sprhigfield  that 
year,  and  this  was  urged  as  a  reason,  among  others,  why  a  minister 
should  be  settled,  as  it  promised  to  break  up  the  west  side  settlement. 
The  answer  of  the  Centre  w^as  that  the  pine  plain  to  the  north  was 
"mean  land,"  that  while  the  house-lots  were  on  the  east  side,  the 
rich  lands  were  on  the  west  side.     To  the  argument  that  crossing  the 


198  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-ISS6. 

river  to  Sabbath  worship  was  an  imdue  resort  to  labor,  the  petition 
continues  :  — 

Wee  say  most  of  them  (west-siders)  theire  house  lots  do  butt  upon  the  greate 
River  almost  in  opposition  Avith  our  Town  plott.  As  for  theire  Travell ;  sure 
necessary  Travell  is  Lawful  on  the  Sabbath.  As  for  servile  labor  :  We  count 
it  as  Lawful  to  Row  in  a  Boate,  or  paddle  a  Canoe,  or  bridle  and  saddle  an 
horse.  Works  of  necessity,  are  works  of  the  Sabbath.  Where  as  they  say  it 
occasions  unevitable  discourse  which  they  Judge  inconsistent  with  the  holynes  of 
the  day  :  We  say  if  they  find  them  selves  guilty  they  must  mend  as  fPast  as  they 
can  and  not  bringe  theire  ffaillings  for  an  Argument  in  matters  of  this  nature. 
They  say  theire  Children  Canot  enjoy  gods  ordy nances,  but  are  under  great 
temptation  to  rudenes  &c  the  heads  of  ffamilies  being  absent  &c.  We  say 
heads  of  ffamilies  must  see  better  to  farailie  goverment. 

In  still  another  communication  from  the  east  side  that  year  (1696) 
it  was  maintained  that  "  The  whole  precinct  of  this  town  is  as  truly 
ours  as  the  land  of  Canaan  that  was  divided  to  the  tribes  of  Israel 
was  theirs."  The  petition  of  the  west  side  was  allowed  in  December 
1696.  The  Ma}^  court,  1698,  was  again  troubled  with  this  matter. 
Persons  renting  lands  on  the  west  side  and  living  on  the  east  side 
refused  to  pay  for  the  maintenance  of  the  west-side  minister.  Again, 
when  Mr.  Brewer  was  settled,  the  town  agreed  to  give  him  £100  in 
addition  to  his  annual  stipend.  This  the  west-siders  would  not  pay, 
after  they  had  been  given  permission  to  maintain  a  separate  minister. 
These  matters  went  up  to  the  General  Court,  and  the  west  side  was 
directed  to  pa}^  its  share  of  the  £100,  while  all  tenants  on  the  west  side 
were  directed  to  pay  their  ratings  for  the  west-side  minister  and 
church. 

The  figure  of  John  Pynchon  stands  out  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century  like  a  fair  monument  in  a  rude  land.  While  the 
hardest  worked  man  in  western  Massachusetts,  not  a  word  reflecting 
upon  his  honor  has  come  down  to  us.  He  had  a  placid  disposition,  a 
dignified  bearing,  and  yet  was  as  tender-hearted  as  a  woman.  He 
was  a  town  organizer,   a  maker  and  administrator  and    interpreter 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6.  199 


of  laws,  and  a  student  of  trade  and  commerce.     When  John  Pynchon 
visited  Boston  he  took  his  place  among  the  assistants  in  the  General 
Court ;  when  he  entered  the  Count}^  Court  room,  either  at  Springfield 
or  Northampton,  his  seat  was   at  the   head  of  the  bench  of  judges  ; 
the  town  magistrate's  chair  was  his  chair  ;  and  at  the  town-meeting 
he  was  always  moderator,  and  upon  training  day  he  was  captain  of 
the  company.     He  was  Springfield's  most  distinguished  citizen,  and 
his  services  were  in  demand  in  intercolonial  affairs  as  well.     When  it 
became  evident  (1680)  by  the  repeated  attacks  of  the  Mohawks  upon 
the  peaceable    Indians   of    Massachusetts    that   something   decided 
must  be   done,  it  was  John  Pynchon  to  whom  the  Massachusetts 
authorities  turned.     Pynchon  went  to  Albany  to  meet  Sir  Edmund 
Andros,  and  to  deal  with  the  Macquas  Indians.     He  frankly  rebuked 
them  for  breaking  treaty  agreements,  and  then  made  thera  presents 
of  blankets,  shirts,  rum,  and  tobacco,  which  "  sweetened  the   hard 
speech"    of    the    major.     ^'Brother    Pynchon,"   the    savages    said, 
"  wee  are  glad  that  wee  see  you  heere  againe,  like  as  wee  did  see  yow 
four  yeers  past."     A  cordial  understanding  was  secured,  by  which  the 
treaty  of  1677,  at  Albany,  was   reaffirmed.     The   General  Court,  in 
gratitude    for    the   success   of    the    commission,  gave  Mr.   Pynchon 
twelve  pounds,  besides  his  expenses.    The  feeling  of  friendship,  under 
Pynchon's  personal  influence,  must  have  been  deep,  causing  as  it  did 
these  Romans  of  all  the  native  tribe  to  say   through  an  interpreter 
four  years  later  (1684)  :   "  Wee  doe  plant  here  a  great  tree  of  peace, 
whose  branches  do  spread  abroad  as  f arr  as  the  Massachusetts  colony, 
Virginia,  Maryland,  and  all  that  are  ni  friendship  with  us  :  and  lie  in 
peace,  unitie  &  tranquilitie  under  the  shade  of  said  tree." 

In  1870  an  ancient  oak  fell  in  Longmeadow,  under  which,  tradition 
says,  John  Pynchon  used  to  hold  conferences  with  the  local  Indians. 

Mr.  Pynchon  headed  the  committee  for  running  the  boundary  line 
between  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  (1680),  for  which  service  he 
was  granted  the  "  smale  island  in  Connecticut  Ryver,  at  &  toward 
the  foote  of  the  ffalls  below  Springfield"  (King's  Island),  was  chair- 


200  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


man  of  the  committee  appointed  by  the  General  Court  to  inquire  into 
the  condition  of  things  in  Maine  (1681),  was  made  one  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts council  of  King  James  TI.  (1685),  was  authorized  to  re- 
settle Northfield,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  usually  headed  provisional 
committees  in  the  organization  of  neighboring  plantations. 

But  it  is  with  reference  to  commerce  and  business  that  we  are  to 
see  best  the  lines  Pynchon's  mind  worked  in.     While  making  money 
for  himself,  he  labored  in  a  way  to  build  up  the  town.     He  was  the 
village  merchant,  the  beaver  trader,  the  land  speculator,  the  farmer, 
the  stock  raiser,  the  mining  prospector,  the  banker,  and  the  importer 
and  exporter  of  merchandise.     A  vote  passed  in  April,  1693,  by  the 
town-meeting,  excites  the  curiosity  sufficiently  to  justify  investigation. 
Encouragement  was  formally  extended  to  a  certain  '-man  that  wee 
hear   would    set    up  Iron    workes    in    our  Town."       It   seems    that 
John  Pynchon  never  abandoned  the  notion  that  the  hills  guarding  this 
river  of  ours  were  rich  in  minerals.    This  belief  came  from  his  father, 
who  spent  much  money  in  prospecting.     John  Pynchon  thought  he 
had  found  lead  near  Westfield,  and  secured  lands  there.    He  was  also 
so  confident  he  had  found  valuable  ore  -  nere  to  Millers  River,  above 
Dearefeild,"  that  he  and  some  associates  in  1685  secured  a  grant  of 
one  thousand  acres  near  by,  upon  the  superimposed  condition,  how- 
ever, that  they  would  form  a  settlement  there  with  reasonable  speed. 
As  late  as  1697  Mr.  Pynchon  was  full  in  the  faith  that  Springfield 
was  to  develop  the  iron  wealth  of  the  valley.     In  the  winter  of  that 
year  he  made  sundry  proposals  in  town-meeting  in  reference  to  the 
"  setting  up  &  carrying  on  an  Iron  mill  for  the  produceing  of  iron." 
The  town  gave  Pynchon  and  Joseph  Parsons  of  Northampton  liberty 
to  take    and  work    "whatever  Iron  Ore  may  bee    found   anywhere 
w*Hn  our  Township."     These  two  men  made  arrangements  forthwith 
to  build  an  iron  mill  on  Mill  river. 

The  commercial  aggressiveness  which  John  Pynchon  developed  and 
one  may  say  systematized  here  is  of  great  moment,  as  it  traces  to  its 
root-source  a  character  and  a  reputation  for  which  this  community  is 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  201 


justly  proud.  Let  us  go  outside  of  our  calendar  for  a  moment  in  or- 
der to  pick  the  thread  of  business  running  through  John  Pynchon's 
hand  for  half  a  century.  Pynchon  had  a  warehouse  in  this  town  as 
early  as  1660,  where  his  goods  were  delivered  on  arrival  from  Hart- 
ford. We  believe  that  this  trading-house  was  near  Mill  river,  upon 
the  banks  of  the  Connecticut.  He  had  also  a  regular  country  store  here . 
Almost  every  person,  from  minister  to  tlie  hired  hands,  kept  running  ac- 
counts at  the  Pynchon  store,  and  farmers  and  merchants  from  North- 
ampton to  New  Haven  were  in  the  habit  of  paying  off  men  by  drawing 
orders  upon  Pynchon  for  merchandise.  The  phraseology  of  these 
orders  was  by  no  means  monotonous.  Sometimes  it  was,  ''  I  desire 
you  to  help  y*^  bearer  to  provisions  ;  "  or,  "  This  is  to  order  you  to  pay 
to  ;  "  or,  "  Be  pleased  to  pay  unto  my  debtor,"  and  so  on. 

Brother  Glover  opened  an  account  at  the  Pynchon  store,  and  not 
only  traded  out  Mr.  Pynchon's  ministry  rates,  but  anticipated  the 
money  due  from  others  by  the  congregation,  which,  it  is  sad  to  re- 
late, Avere  often  allowed  to  go  unpaid  until  the  town  stepped  in  and 
made  the  minister  good.  Mr.  Glover  buys  at  one  time  ten  bushels 
of  "  barley  mault  "  for  £2  5s.,  at  another  9 J  yards  of  lace  at  7s.,  a 
firkin  of  soap,  some  "  manchester  beys,"  "  dinity,"  ''locrane,"  and 
so  on.  Deacon  Chapin's  taste  went  to  red  shag  cloth.  Kersey  cotton, 
and  calico,  and  he  paid  for  his  merchandise  in  ox-hides,  meal,  corn, 
hay,  candles,  peas,  carting  stones,  etc.  Rice  Bedortha  buys  among 
other  things  an  Indian  coat,  a  sickle,  some  cards,  and  so  on,  for 
which  he  ''daubed"  ^Nlr.  Pynchon's  chimney,  and  performed  other 
jobs.  Thomas  Cooper's  bill  ran  up  at  one  time  to  £681  6s.  M.  In 
1659  Mr.  Cooper  received  at  Mr.  Pynchon's  hands  a  bale  of  goods 
directly  from  England,  for  which  he  agreed  to  pay  £17.  He  failed 
to  meet  the  bUl,  and  it  seems  some  misunderstanding  had  arisen. 
Deacon  Chapin  and  Mr.  Holyoke  arbitrated  the  matter,  and  tlie  bill, 
somewhat  reduced,  Avas  paid  in  1661.  Cooper  was  continually  de- 
livering to  Pynchon  beaver,  moose,  and  deer  skins.  He  also  aided  in 
the   handling   of  these  skins,  did  some  miscellaneous    carpentering. 


202  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6. 

handed  in  wild  honey,  and  drove  hogs  to  the  falls  below.  While  their 
accounts  mounted  into  the  hundreds  of  pounds,  they  once  went  to  law 
over  a  little  matter  of  17s.  9cZ.,  and  the  constable  collected  it  of 
Cooper  and  delivered  it  to  Pynchon.  Mr.  Holyoke  was  a  more  care- 
ful man,  and  kept  his  bills  down  to  manageable  proportions.  Jona- 
than Burt  met  his  account  in  part  In^  drawing  timber  and  stone,  and 
by  carpentering.  Thomas  Mirrick  was  often  employed  by  Pyn- 
chon to  cart  goods  from  Hartford,  and  there  are  references  to  "  sev- 
eral voyadges  to  Hartford  "  which  were  credited  to  Mirrick.  Much 
the  same  thing  may  be  said  of  Henry  Burt.  Miles  Morgan  bought 
from  tnne  to  time  shag  cotton,  calico,  venison,  razors,  lace,  raisins, 
sugar,  "  1  qt  of  Sack,"  gunpowder,  while  the  balance  was  struck  b}' 
the  sergeant  by  carting,  slaughtering  cattle,  and  sellmg  produce. 
Miles  killed  as  many  as  twenty  hogs  for  Pynchon  at  one  time.  Sam- 
uel Marshfield  delivered  many  beaver  and  moose  skins  at  the  Pynchon 
store  during  the  year.  Anthony  Dorchester  carried  lumber,  boated 
some,  transporting  hay  and  stuff  across  the  river.  Griffith  Jones 
could  tan  hides,  Samuel  Ferry  (or  wife)  could  weave,  and  make 
ditches  and  fences,  Francis  Pepper  could  tend  sheep  and  thresh 
wheat ;  and  so  it  went. 

Mr.  Pynchon  was  a  wholesale  merchant  as  well.  He  sent  hun- 
dreds of  poiindVof  merchandise  to  Joseph  Parsons,  of  "  Nalwatogg," 
and  received  back  beaver  skins,  wampum,  wheat,  etc.  Pynchon  had 
accounts  also  with  David  Wilton,  of  Windsor,  who  would  order  £20 
worth  at  a  time,  and  pa}^  in  agricultural  produce,  liquors,  beaver,  etc. 
Jonathan  Gilbert  and  Philip  Davis,  of  Hartford,  and  Edward  Elmer, 
of  Northampton,  were  his  customers.  Pynchon  bought  flour,  wine, 
raisins,  beaver,  butter,  etc.,  of  James  Rogers,  of  New  London,  and 
seems  to  have  made  up  a  cargo  of  wheat  to  offset  it.  Pynchon  was 
a  large  purchaser  of  lands  on  the  Mystic  river,  the  Norwich  side.  He 
and  Rogers  at  one  time  owned  2,200  acres  of  land  in  that  region. 
We  find  also  that  Zachariah  Field,  of  Northampton,  William  Clarke, 
of  Hartford,  and  many  others  stocked  up  from  the  Pynchon  cargoes. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  208 


The  trade  in  pelts,  both  from  domestic  and  forest  animals,  formed 
the  profitable  basis  for  Mr.  Pynchon's  business.  We  will  content 
ourself  with  one  extract  from  the  formidable  beaver  account :  — 

Beaver  packed  for  England  &  sent  to  M--  Henry  Ashburst  &  M--  Nicolas 
Grigson. 

July  24th      f      I  packed  a  lihd.   of   Bever  qt   as  in  my  old  booke  :    this  Bever 
1657.       \  was  most  of  it  p"!  according  to  my  order  into  my  father  as  p  acct 
*-  returned  1G58. 

r  Packed  1  hhd  of  Bever  marked  T.  M.  No.  1  conteineth  as  f olloweth 
I  203  Bever  skins  (I  thinke  y^  Number  is  so)  weight  is  273  lb.  (about 
Aug.  10th.  J  30  lb.  of  this  is  Bad  Bever  :  14  otter  skins  :  32  Musquashes  &  Minks  : 
1659.  45  fox  skins  &  racoone  skins  &  a  psell  of  Bever  Cods  weighing  11 

lb.     This  hhd  father  had  y'^  mony  &  it  is  charged  to  y^  acct  betwixt 
him  &  mee. 

Mr.  Pynchon  was  continually  letting  out  cattle  to  his  neighbors  for 
a  share  of  the  returns  and  increase.  He  rented,  sold,  and  bought 
lands.  He  took  land  and  goods  for  debt,  but  was  known  to  go  as 
long  as  seventeen  years  before  bringing  suit  on  overdue  accounts. 
And  the  suits  were  not  always  favorable  to  him  either.  In  1690 
Pynchon  sued  Abell  Wright  for  trespass,  and  moving  and  carrying 
away  his  grass  ;  jury  found  for  defendant.  He  sells  Deacon  Chapin 
a  house  for  £13  in  wheat.  He  lets  out  to  John  Lamb  ''  that  black 
cow  of  mine  at  his  house  for  two  yeares  for  w'^^  he  is  to  allow  me 
sixe  shillings  each  yeare."  He  hires  out  his  colored  "  maid  Elizabeth 
Waite  "  to  Samuel  Ely,  for  two  years,  and  his  oxen  "  Collier"  and 
"  Russler"  to  Anthony  Dorchester  for  one  year.  He  owned  cider- 
mills,  saw-mills,  grist-mills,  wharves  and  warehouses,  canoes  and 
boats,  and  was  also  a  ship-owner.  He  had  tenement-houses  on  both 
sides  of  the  river,  and  was  always  ready  to  sell,  buy,  or  rent.  Now 
he  pays  Deacon  Chapin  for  "  worke  &  Bacon  to  y"^  lead  mines  ;  "  then 
it  \^  £8  "  to  John  Bagg  (by  Mr.  Winthrop  his  order)  for  2  months 
work  at  y^  Mine  ; "  and  John  Matthews,  who  could  turn  his  hand  to 
coopering,  gathered  in  £3  14s.  for  twenty-six  barrels  "  for  y'  Lead." 


204  SPRIXGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


With  all  these  business  and  public  activities  Major  Pynchon  did  not 
neglect  his  growing  family.  Joseph  and  John,  his  sons,  were  in 
Harvard  College  at  the  same  time,  as  appears  by  a  Harvard  College 
monitor's  bill,  probably  for  the  year  1664.  Joseph  graduated  in  1664, 
but  his  brother  John  remained  but  two  years.  The  monitor's  bill  is 
not  very  flattering  to  the  Pynchon  boj's,  so  far  as  attendance  is  con- 
cerned. Out  of  fifteen  days  Joseph  was  absent  from  three  morning 
and  three  evening  prayers.  John  was  tardy  four  times  and  absent 
twice ;  but  both  young  men  were  present  on  the  Sabbath.  Joseph 
settled  at  Boston,  and  in  1678  his  father  deeded  him  one  thousand 
acres  of  land  on  the  west  side  of  the  Connecticut,  in  Springfield,  Hat- 
field, and  Deerfield,  as  well  as  all  of  his  real  estate  in  Wraisbury, 
England.  The  revocation  of  the  colony  charter,  in  1684,  was  a  seri- 
ous matter  for  Harvard  College,  but  we  find  that  Major  Pynchon 
attended  the  meeting  of  July,  1686,  when  Josepli  Dudley  and  the 
council  appointed  Increase  Mather  rector.  The  major  was  in  those 
days  accompanied  to  the  General  Court  by  Joseph,  who  was  elected 
town  deputy  from  time  to  time.  As  the  major  grew  old  and  infirm, 
some  special  provision  was  made  as  to  his  safety  in  journeying  to 
Boston,  as  appears  from  this  vote,  passed  in  the  spring  of  1693: 
"•  The  worshipful  Major  Pynchon  Esqr  being  chosen  the  Towns 
Representative  for  the  general  Courte,  for  this  year,  It  was  voted  to 
leave  it  with  the  Selectmen  to  se  that  he  have  a  man  to  accompany 
him  to  Boston  according  as  there  shal  be  necessity." 

Pynchon  continued  each  year  to  take  the  oath  of  office  as  judge. 
Here  is  a  specimen  of  the  record:  "  Court  at  Springfield  Sept.  29, 
1691  ColF  Jno.  Pynchon  Esqr  being  by  y^  Gen'^  Courte  May  20  '91 
invested  with  majestraticall   power  toke  y''  C>ath  in  Courte." 

But  the  fulness  of  time  had  come,  and  the  worshipful  Major  John 
Pynchon  was  gathered  to  his  fathers.  He  died  at  da^'break,  after  a 
lingering  illness,  January  7,  1703,  at  the  age,  it  would  seem,  of  eighty- 
two  years.  There  was  an  imposing  funeral.  A  com})any  of  troopers 
w^ere  employed  by  the  Pynchon  family  to  do   escort    duty.     Several 


9 

6 

2 

9 

8 

2 

1 

8 

5 

(J 

5 

0 

9 

6 

SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1S86.  205 

hundred  dollars  were  spent  upon  this  occasion,  and  sundry  funeral 
meats  and  drinks,  in  those  days  allowable  at  the  expense  of  the 
estate,  were  not  neglected  by  the  mourners.  Hence  the  items  in  the 
accounts  subsequently  tiled  :  — 

p<i  To  Thos  Mirick  for  drink  at  his  funeral  £2 

p'i  To  John  Miller  ferryman  for  ferridg  for  troopers 

p'^  Thos  Ingersole  for  expense  at  his  funeral 

To  10  Lb  of  best  Sugar  of  J.  P  at  y«  funeral  Ud  per 

To  ()  Lb  of  meaner  Do  of  L  lid  per 

To  1  Bushel  of  wheat  Meal  at  y^  funeral, 

To  5  Gallons  of  Kum  os  0  at  his  funeral  &  3  pints  &  half  in  his  sickness 

The   inventory   of   his    estate    shows    also  how    his   dignity  was 
clothed :  — 

Light  Colour'd  Dublet  with  gold  twist  &  sad  colour'd  Britches, 

Fine  Cloth  Waste  Coat  &  Britches, 

Blue  Broad  Cloath  Britches  &  Coat  &  draAvs 

Trooping  Scarft"  with  Gold  lace 

Gloves  with  Silver  lace  etc 

10  yds.  of  Silver  and  Gold  lace 

2  Bunches  or  knots  of  Silver  Kibbin 

2  Wast  Coats,  one  liu'd  with  Silk, 

Moehair  Cloak 

Lace  neck  cloath  etc 

Negro  man  Servant 

' '      maid       '  • 
6  Pewter  Dishes  with  Coat  of  Arms 
1  Doz  Plates  coat  Arms 

A  Light  Coloured  Cape  Coat  with  frogs  on  it  etc 
Plate  etc 

6  Gold  Rings  etc.  a  Ruble  ring 
Four  Rings  accounted  as  brass 
A  Silver  hilted  Raper  etc 

John  Pynchon  left  quite  a  library  which  might  be  called  both  stately 
and    standard.     There    was    nothing   lighter    than    a   dictionary  nor 


£2 

00 

00 

3 

00 

00 

3 

5 

00 

3 

10 

1 

2 

2 

10 
0 

1 

12 

1 

3 

8 

10 

30 

1 

16 

1 

5 

10 

00 

49 

7 

6 

4 

15 

00 
6 

4 

14 

00 

206  SPRINGFIELD,    1630-1886. 

heavier  than  "  Hodgkiss  on  Sin."  The  negro  servant  in  the  above 
hst  of  valuables  was  the  slave  Tom  who  lived  to  a  good  old  age ,  —  our 
local  uncle  Tom,  in  fact,  but  his  lines  fell  in  pleasanter  places.  One 
with  a  fancy  for  contrasts  may  turn  from  the  rich  apparel  of  Master 
Pyuchon  to  the  simple  record  of  Black  Tom's  outfit :  "A  parcel  of 
old  cloathing  of  Black  Tom  negroe,  10s."  The  digging  of  Tom's 
grave  cost  3cL,  and  while  there  were  no  troopers  to  attend  the  last 
rites,  the  servants  and  slaves  upon  the  Pjmchon  estate  were  given 
one  quart  of  rum  to  drink  to  his  memory. 

With  the  death  of  John  Pynchon  closes  the  consolidating  or  for- 
mative period  of  Springfield's  history.  The  seeds  were  well  sown, 
and  time  has  done  the  rest.  There  were  conflicts  and  waves  of  de- 
pression and  prosperity  both  in  churcli  and  town  ;  but  the  Pynchons 
had  determined  the  character  of  the  settlement,  and  it  developed 
steadily  and  healthily  upon  those  general  lines. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

1703-1735. 

Queen  Anne's  War. —The  West  Side  Meeting-House.— Longmeadow. —Rev.  Ste- 
phen Wilhams.  — The  Commons. —Visit  of  Judge  SewalL  — Mr.  Brewer's  Salary. 
—  Parish  INIatters.  —  Mr.  Brewer's  Death.  —  The  State  of  Societ3^— The  Half- Way 
Covenant.  — A  Decline  in  Morals.  —  Full  List  of  Tax- payers.— The  Church  Member- 
ship.—Freemanship,— Condition  of  the  Churches.  —  Call  of  Rev.  Robert  Breck. — 
Charges  of  Heresy.  —  Breck's  Reply.  The  First  Parish  divided  into  Breck  and  Anti- 
Breck  Factious.  —Meeting  of  the  Hampshire  County  Association  of  Ministers  at 
Springfield.  —  An  Exciting  Session. 

During  the  first  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  acts  of  Spring- 
field were  projected  against  a  dark  background  of  apprehension. 
And  yet,  with  this  residence  beside  the  very  jaws  of  death,  the  plan- 
tation enjoyed  the  smile  of  Heaven  and  prospered.  There  were,  from 
time  to  time,  garrison  soldiers  in  its  streets.  Its  meeting-house  was 
fortified,  and  so  were  some  of  its  dwelling-houses  and  mills. 

England  declared  war  against  France  in  1702,  and  the  Indians  were 
again  soon  pouring  over  the  Canadian  border.  With  what  feelings  of 
anguish  did  they  in  1704  hear  of  the  revel  of  death  at  Deerfield, — 
that  home  of  massacre  one  might  almost  say,  —  the  snows  stained 
with  blood,  and  the  captivity  of  scores  of  men,  women,  and  children ! 
This  was  at  the  opening  of  Queen  Anne's  war  in  this  region,  and  the 
worst  of  it  was  that  Rev.  John  Williams  and  his  noble  flock  were 
taken  to  Canada  and  confronted  with  Romanism.  But  there  was  no 
good  ground  of  fear.  ^'  It  is  better  going  in  a  ragged  coat  than  with 
a  ragged  conscience,"  replied  the  Deerfield  minister  when  a  French 
lady  superior  offered  him  warm  clothes  if  he  would  become  a  papist. 

There  is  happily  little  of  a  warlike  nature  to  record  locally  in  these 
times  when  the  up-river  settlements  were  suffering.     Samuel  Chapin, 


208  SPRINGFIELD.    1636-2886. 

in  1706,  was^vouiided  in  the  north  part  of  the  town.  Colonel  Whiting 
and  his  Connecticut  soldiers  were  undoubtedh'  here  two  j^ears  later 
on  his  errand  of  defending  the  outposts.  At  any  rate,  Joseph  Par- 
eons  Avas  directed  that  year  (1708)  to  intercede  with  the  governor 
against  the  proposed  calling  away  of  Springfield  men  to  defend  other 
towns,  and  to  ask  for  a  garrison  itself .  This  was  in  the  summei,  in 
which  the  home  of  Lieutenant  Wright  at  Skipmuck  was  attacked  by 
the  Indians,  and  three  men  and  a  child  killed,  and  a  woman  carried 
away  into  captivity. 

The  old  homogeneous  town-meeting  had  become  broken  up.  West 
Springfield  had  secured  a  meeting-house  in  1702  in  spite  of  the 
mother  plantation  ;  and,  after  the  decree  of  the  Bay  authorities,  that 
the  east  side  should  pay  £50  toward  the  cost  of  the  west-side  edifice, 
Springfield  voted  the  amount  in  provisions,  "  if  they  would  accept 
thereof." 

In  the  winter  of  1704  the  inhabitants  on  the  east  side  of  the  river 
began  to  hold  regular  parish  meetings.  In  accordance  with  the  ap- 
propriation of  £50  in  ^'  provision  pay"  toward  the  west-side  meet- 
ing-house, the  selectmen  made  a  levy  ;  but  the  west  side  would  not 
accept  this  in  full  payment  under  the  order  of  the  General  Court. 
The  constables  were  ordered  therefore  not  to  collect  the  rates. 
Joseph  Parsons,  Dea.  Jonathan  Burt,  and  James  Warriner  were 
sent,  in  1705,  to  Boston,  to  answer  the  still  protesting  west-side rs. 
The  General  Court  ordered  the  east  side  to  pay  the  £50  in  two  years, 
and  also  provided  for  a  division  of  ministry  lands.  The  east  side 
demurred,  and  appealed  again  to  the  General  Court.  When  the  west 
side  became  a  separate  parish  they  were  released  from  the  burden  of 
Rev.  Mr.  Brewer's  salary,  and  this  increased  the  ministry  rates  on 
the  east  side.  Many  refused  to  pay  the  extra  tax,  and  the  town  was 
compelled  to  sue  in  the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions. 

The  little  congregation  upon  the  west  side  had  secured  a  fine  man 
for  a  minister  in  John  Woodbridge,  — learned,  gentle,  and  easy  of  ac- 
cess.    The  Connecticut  river  was  quite  wide  enough  to  divide  the  in- 


SPRIXGFIELD,    1636-1886.  209 

terests  of  the  two  sections  ;  and  the  cordial  strife  and  rivah-y  went  on 
for  over  a  century.  It  was  not  until  the  advent  of  railroads  that  for- 
tune showed  any  decided  preference  for  the  east  side  as  the  district 
destined  to  outgrow  the  habiliments  of  a  village. 

Another  child  of  Springfield  was  fast  gaining  proportions  on  the 
"Long  Meddow"  below  the  ^dllage.  In  the  spring  of  1703  the  in- 
habitants were  granted  permission  to  build  on  the  higher  ground ; 
they  were  also  given  lands  from  Pecowsic  to  Enfield,  and  from  the 
"  hil  eastward  to  the  Longmedow  halfe  a  mile  further  eastward  into 
the  woods."  The  petition  for  these  concessions  was  signed  by  thir- 
teen men,  including  Nathaniel  Burt,  George  Colton,  Benjamin  Cooley, 
Samuel  Stebbins,  and  Nathaniel  Bliss.  The  inhabitants  dwelling  on 
the  long  meadow  followed  up  their  new  ambition  by  asking,  in  1704, 
for  the  privilege  of  a  separate  minister ;  but  the  hope  and  request 
were  premature.  The  maternal  town-meeting,  however,  laid  well  the 
foundation  stones  for  a  new  town,  by  voting,  in  March,  1705  :  "It 
was  ordered  to  pay  out  of  the  Town  Treasury  an  Addition  of  sixteen 
pounds  to  encourage  the  inhabitants  on  the  west  side  of  the  great 
river,  &  of  the  Longmedow  to  promote  the  Learning  of  their  children 
for  the  present  year." 

During  the  year  following  the  Longmeadow  inhabitants  were  al- 
lowed to  like  a  schoolmaster  ;  so  were  those  of  West  Springfield.  A 
little  difficulty  grew  out  of  the  Longmeadow  school  tax,  the  scholars 
not  being  required  to  pay  tuition.  The  matter  was  referred  to  the 
Court  of  Quarter  Sessions,  and  the  justices  decided  that  the  school 
rates  should  be  raised  like  all  the  town  rates  ;  but  the  town  seems  to 
have  gotten  round  this  by  requiring  a  load  of  wood  to  be  sent  to  the 
schoolhouse  for  each  child  taught.  In  1709  Thomas  Mirrick,  Sam- 
uel Bliss,  and  George  Colton  were  sent  abroad  to  "bring"  School- 
master John  Sherman  to  the  \illage  ;  and  £40  a  year  stipend  was 
allowed  him  out  of  the  town  treasury.  This  curious  provision  was 
added  to  a  small  appropriation  to  Captain  Thomas  Colton  for  provid- 
ing schooling  at  Longmeadow :   "  W°^  allowance,  if  it  occasion  strife, 


210  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


or  disturbance  amongst  his  neiglibors  at  Longmedow,  he  promises  to 
foregoe  y^  s*^  Towns  allowance  of  30s." 

Longmeadow  got  its  heart's  desire  in  1715,  when  the  General  Court 
granted  it  permission  to  maintain  a  separate  minister,  although  not 
"  fully  up  to  the  number  of  40  families,"  and  a  £120  meeting-house 
was  begun  the  next  year.  By  another  year  (October  18,  1716) 
Longmeadow  had  a  minister,  —  the  famous  Stephen  Williams,  whose 
capture  at  Deerfield  by  the  Indians,  with  his  father  and  his  sister 
Eunice  and  others,  make  up  a  tragic  chapter  in  New  England  history. 

Springfield,  on  March  28,  1716,  recognized  no  less  than  six  pre- 
cincts :  (1)  The  west  side  of  the  river,  (2)  Longmeadow,  (3)  West 
side  of  the  Agawam,  (4)  The  Upper  Chicopee,  (5)  The  Lower  Chico- 
pee,  (6)  Skipmuck.  Here  were  distinctly  recognized  the  potentiality 
of  towns,  and  not  merely  topographical  expressions.  Each  precinct, 
with  aid  from  the  town,  was  required  to  keep  a  school  running,  the 
town  school  tax  for  1716  being  no  less  than  £82.  These  precincts 
conform  somewhat  to  the  various  commons,  and  we  have  seen  how 
the  proprietors  of  each  common  used  to  gather  together  by  the  con- 
sent of  the  town-meeting,  appoint  moderators  and  clerks,  and  legislate 
concerning  the  lands.  The  management  of  the  turpentine  business 
in  1708  gave  rise  to  another  instance  of  delegated  legislative  func- 
tions by  vote  of  the  town.  The  inhabitants  were  prohibited  from 
"  boxing  terpentine  trees  "  on  the  "  Inmost  comon."  A  committee, 
headed  by  Joseph  Parsons,  was  appointed  to  "  regulate  the  drawing 
of  turpentine."  The  region  for  operating  in  boxing  pine-trees  was 
duly  regulated  by  the  proprietors  of  the  commons,  and  no  one  was 
allowed  to  work  more  than  one  thousand  new  trees,  and  for  this  a 
certain  license  fee  was  imposed,  the  money  going  to  the  schools. 
This  was  not  a  town-meeting,  but  a  gathering  of  the  proprietors,  who 
voted  the  proceeds  of  a  franchise  into  the  town  treasury,  —  a  curious 
phase  of  town  government.  This  was,  in  fact,  running  local  govern- 
ment on  shares. 

The  colonial  laws  class  towns,  \411ages,  precincts,  and  proprietors 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  211 

of  common  fields  in  one  category  when  speaking  of  their  legal  func- 
tions, such  as  the  right  to  sue  or  be  sued.  After  the  division  of 
Springfield  into  precincts  the  first  church  is  referred  to  as  a  "  society," 
for  the  first  time.  We  thus  have  an  explanation  of  the  church  and 
parish  meetings  in  modern  Congregationalism.  The  part  of  Spring- 
field in  the  first  precinct  would  meet  as  a  town-meeting,  and  appropri- 
ate the  money  for  a  minister,  etc.,  and  the  selectmen  would  levy  the 
tax.  This  section  of  the  town-meeting  in  time  became  the  parish 
meeting. 

A  commission,  of  which  Luke  Hitchcock  was  a  member,  met  in 
Springfield,  in  1723,  to  form  two  townships,  known  as  the  "  Upper  and 
Housatonic  townships,"  comprising  what  is  now  SheflJield,  Egremont, 
Mount  Washington,  Great  Barrington,  Alford,  and  portions  of  Lee, 
Stockbridge,  and  West  Stockbridge.  The  court-house  was  situated 
on  the  line  of  Sanford  street,  back  of  Market  street.  There  having 
been  some  strife,  in  1722,  about  the  court-house,  the  following  building 
committee  was  appointed :  Ephraim  Colton,  Pelatiah  Bliss,  Increase 
Sikes,  Capt.  John  Mirrick,  Lieut.  Joseph  Cooley,  Samuel  Day,  Dea. 
Joseph  Ely,  Ensign  John  Miller,  Ensign  James  Mirrick,  Jonathan 
Worthington,  and  Ebenezer  Parsons.  Land  on  both  sides  of  the 
river  was  appropriated  as  part  pajauent  for  the  court-house.  This 
committee's  accounts  were  ordered  to  be  examined  in  December,  1723. 
There  was  really  no  need  of  court-houses  to  impress  the  people 
with  the  dignity  of  judges.  The  formalities  of  those  times  make  a 
very  pleasing  impression  upon  us,  so  accustomed  to  the  simpler 
democracies  of  the  day.  Judge  Samuel  Sewall  comes  to  Springfield 
to  hold  the  September  court,  1718.  He  is  met  at  Suffield  by  the 
sheriff,  and  probably  a  company  of  horsemen,  who,  as  was  often  the 
case,  saluted  his  honor  with  trumpets.  In  riding  through  the  Aga- 
wam  river  he  gets  his  Heels  a  little  wet,  it  being  quite  dark.  He  finds 
Colonel  Taylor  and  a  number  of  friends  at  supper  at  Ingersol's  tavern, 
and  joins  them ;  the  next  day  Rev.  Daniel  Brewer  offers  prayer  at  the 
opening  of  the  court ;   the  judge  finds  time    to  give  young  Stephen 


212  SPRINGFIELD,    1G36-18S6. 

Williams  two  silver  spoons,  with  the  dates  of  his  captivity  and  mar- 
riage engraved  thereon.  On  the  Lord's  da}^  he  attends  chnrch  with 
the  associate  judges,  Colonel  Pynchon,  and  the  attorneys  of  the  town, 
and  Mr.  Brewer  preaches  "  ver}- well  and  audil)ly  "  from  the  text, 
"  Salute  one  another  with  a  holy  kiss.  The  churches  of  Christ  salute 
you."  The  judge  leaves  Springfield  after  giving  ]Mr.  Brewer  twenty 
shillings  for  his  prayers  during  the  court  session,  is  accompanied  east 
five  miles  by  the  sheriff  and  troopers,  dines  in  the  pine  woods,  and 
then  presses  on  toward  Brookfield. 

The  town  acts  are  unimportant  during  this  period.  In  May,  1719, 
Joseph  Stebbins  was  chosen  moderator,  —  a  notable  break  in  this  re- 
gard, a  Pynchon  having  ])erformed  that  office  from  the  foundation  of 
the  town.  Joseph  Stebbins  was  quite  i)rominent  in  local  affairs  ;  he 
was  sent  as  delegate  to  the  General  Court,  and  seems  to  have  been 
much  trusted.  John  AVorthington,  Luke  Hitchcock,  and  William 
Pynchon  were  also  chosen  moderators  during  this  period.  This 
William  Pynchon  was  the  great-great-grandson  of  the  founder  of  the 
town. 

In  1715  £30  of  repairs  were  voted  on  the  ministry  house,  and  a 
committee  was  also  appointed  to  confer  with  Mr.  Brewer,  who  was 
•'  uneasy  respecting  his  not  having  equil  proportion  of  grain."  Mr. 
Brewer,  like  other  ministers  of  his  da}',  suffered  financially  from 
fluctuations  in  tlie  value  of  the  pay  he  received  from  his  congregation. 
AVe  have  seen  that  Mr.  Glover  instituted  a  reform  by  inducing  the 
town  to  place  the  collection  of  the  minister's  rates  into  the  hands  of 
the  deacon.  Mr.  Brewer  found  that  a  man  who  was  ill-disposed 
toward  him  would  not  give  good  measure  of  grain,  and  the  same 
was  true  with  the  firewood  that  was  sometimes  contributed  in  the 
autumn.  The  upshot  was  tliat  the  town  offered  (171G)  to  pay  Mr. 
Brewer  in  money.  Mr.  Brewer  suggested  £'J0  as  the  amount  he  would 
accept.  The  town  declined,  and  £85  was  subsequently  agreed  upon  ; 
this  was  afterwards  raised  to  £100. 

There  was  still  unpaid  a  certain  sum  to  Mr.  Brewer  for  losses  sus- 


SPRINGFIELD,    J  636-1886.  •  213 


tained  in  the  setting  up  of  the  AYest  Springfield  parish.     The  follow- 
ing letter,  still  preserved,  probably  refers  to  this  claim :  — 

To  the  people  of  our  precinct  : 

LovEi.\(;  Friends  :  This  may  signifye  to  you  that  (understanding  it  to  be  y-- 
desire  it  sliould  be  so)  I  am  very  free  (notw'hstanding  y  vote  otherwise)  tliat  you 
should  raise  but  Fifty  pounds  for  me  this  year.  Fifty  the  next,  and  so  Fifty  more 
tlie  year  after.  And  Avould  have  you  withall  send  me  y  rauid  Avliich  Avay  of  Im- 
proovement  of  it  would  be  most  easy  to  you. 
This  is  all  at  present 

From  yrs,  Daxiell  Brewer. 

Sprixgfeild,  April  10.  1721. 

Mr.  Brewer  was  a  kindly  man,  and  beloved  of  his  people  ;  bat  this 
did  not  prevent  the  parish  from  driving  close  bargains.  A  year  or 
more  before  the  above  letter,  the  matter  of  repairs  on  Mr.  Brewer's 
house  came  up  again.  This,  and  other  things  of  interest,  are  referred 
to  in  the  subjoined  extract  taken  from  the  parish  records  :  — 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  most  elderly  precinct  for  the  ministry  of 
the  Town  of  Springfield  at  the  meeting  house  in  s-^^  precinct  on  munday  the  Twenty 
Sixth  Day  of  January  Anno  Domi  17 '^  at  one  of  the  clock  in  tlie  Afternoon  to  con- 
sider &  determine  what  Specie  to  Raise  y  Reverend  M'"  Brewers  rate  in  and  other 
contingent  charges  of  ye  s^  precinct  for  y  year  past  &  for  the  time  to  come  & 
further  to  grant  &  raise  such  sum  or  sums  for  the  payment  of  any  dues  from  y' 
s*^  precinct  &  to  consider  &  determine  what  is  necessary  to  be  done  for  y^  re- 
pairing &  mending  y*^  ministry  house  &  ye  meeting-house  of  y*^  s'^  precinct. 
Leagally  Avarned.  Capt  Luke  Hitchcock  was  Chossen  modrator  for  this  meet- 
mg.  Ajorned  this  meeting  to  the  house  of  pelatiah  Bliss  in  s<'  precinct 
It  was  voted  to  raise  three  pounds  two  sliillings  &  four  pence  for  the  }  ..  o  a 
glass  about  the  ministry  house  j    -^       ^       ■* 

it  Avas  voted  to  raise  twenty  shilling  for  pelatiah  Bliss  for  his  soino- ) 

for  M"^  Brewer  *       °  '  Ul       0       0 

voted  to  raise  eleven  shilling  for  Joseph  Ashlv  for  his  work  about) 

y*-' Deacons  seat  "  j  00     11       0 

voted  to  raise  2/0  for  henry  Burt  v&  2/0  for  John  Worthenton  &  ) 

8/0  for  left  John  Fere  for  tlieir  asesing  ^.t  making  v^  rates  in  the  [  all  00     12       0 

year  171'J  for  tliis  precinct  "  i 


214  •  SPRINGFIELD,    2636-1886. 

it  was  discoursed  how  to  raise  the  Reverend  nV  Daniel  Brewer  rate.  Voted  to 
send  to  the  revernd  m""  Brewer  &  desire  him  to  come  and  declare  his  mind  it 
was  voted  that  Sam^^  Bliss  3d  &  Thomas  Horton  should  go  to  the  Reverend  m*" 
Brewer  &  desire  him  to  come  amongst  us  and  declare  his  mind  the  Reverend 
m*"  BrcAver  being  present  at  the  meeting  gave  his  proposals  &  withdrew  it  was 
voted  to  pay  the  Reverend  m*"  Daniell  Brewer  his  sallary  for  the  future  in  grain 
at  thess  following  prices  viz  wheat  at  four  shillings  per  busliell :  &  pease  at  four 
shilling  per  biishell  &  rye  at  three  shillings  per  bushell  &  Indian  corn  at  Two 
shillings  &  six  pence  per  bushell  &  barley  at  three  shillings  &  sixpence  per 
bushell  &  oats  att  Two  shillings  per  bushell  for  the  future  paid  in  a  prepotion  or 
equivilent  it  was  voted  to  pay  the  reverend  m*^  Daneill  Brewer  his  hundred  pound 
sallary  this  year  as  f olloweth  (viz)  Wheat  at  five  shillings  &  sixpence  per  bushell 
&  pease  at  seven  shillings  per  bushell  Rye  at  Three  shillings  per  bushell  &  Indian 
Corn  at  two  shillings  per  bushell  and  barley  shillings  per  bushell  &  oats  at  sixteen 
pence  per  bushell  or  in  money,  it  was  voted  that  Left  John  Fere  Henry  Burt  & 
John  Worthinton  should  be  assessors  to  make  the  rates  for  this  precinct  this  year 
it  was  voted  to  repair  the  ministry  house  but  some  parsons  being  unsatisfied 
about  rej)airing-  tlie  s'^  house  it  was  voted  to  chuse  2  or  3  men  to  vew  the  s^ 
ministry  house  Deacon  Nashmun  John  worthinton  &  Daniell  white  Avare  chossen 
to  vew  the  s^  ministry  house  and  make  report  to  this  meeting  voted  the  above  s^ 
men  vew  the  meeting  house  &  make  report  to  this  meeting.  This  meeting  was 
Ajourned  unto  Fryday  the  29th  day  of  January,  currant  at  two  of  the  clock  iu 
the  afternoon  at  the  meeting  house  in  s'^  precinct. 

Att  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  most  elderly  precinct  for  the  ministry 
in  the  Town  of  Springfield  begun  &  held  on  Munday  January  Twenty  fifth 
17^^  &  continued  by  a  Jourment  till  Fr^'day  next  being  the  29tli  Day  of  January 
currant  and  then  meett  at  Two  of  the  Clock  afternoon  it  was  voted  to  raise  for 
Ephraim  Stills  the  sum  that  the  committee  agreed  to  give  him  for  ringing  the  bell 
&  sweeping  the  meeting  house  The  men  that  were  chossen  to  vew  the  ministry 
house  made  their  report  to  this  meeting  then  it  was  put  to  vote  whether  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  precinct  would  reconsider  their  former  vote  about  repairing  the 
ministry  house  it  was  voted  on  the  affirmative  viz  to  reconsider  s^  vote  Then  it 
was  again  putt  to  vote  whether  they  would  repair  the  ministry  house  it  was  pased 
on  the  negative. 

Mr.  Brewer  presided  over  the  Springfield  Church  for  nearly  forty 
years,  and  he  sank  into  his  grave  leaving,  to  all  appearances,  a  pros- 
perous community.       He  was  an  earnest,   sympathetic,  and  courtly 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-2886.  215 

man,  who,  it  may  be  inferred,  was  loved  more  for  his  parish  work 
than  his  sermonizing.  The  congregation  was  bound  to  him  by  strong 
ties  of  personal  regard.  In  December,  1733,  these  two  votes  were 
passed :  — 

Granted  a  hundred  and  forty  pounds  for  the  sallary  of  Revn^  M'"  Daneill 
Brewer,  deced  this  year,  to  be  paid  to  the  administrators  of  his  estate. 

Voted  and  granted  to  the  ffamily  of  the  Late  Kevn^i  Mr  Daneill  Brewer, 
deced,  the  sum  of  sixty  pounds  in  consideration  of  the  Late  extraordinary  charg 
in  their  sickness,  and  that  the  same  be  paid  to  the  widow,  Katharine  Brewer,  for 
that  end. 

Mrs.  Brewer's  name  is  mentioned  in  a  curious  order  made  nearly 
ten  years  before  :  — 

Voted  y«^  precincts  committee  take  care  that  M''^  Brewers  pew  be  brought 
out  even  with  M'".  Pynchon's  pew. 

Nine  new  men  were  selected  to  seat  the  meeting-house  in  1726, 
headed  by  Deacon  Munn  ;  but  "  three  or  four  of  the  men  saying  they 
would  not  medle  with  it,  it  was  voted  that  five  or  six  of  the  s*^  com- 
mittee may  seat  the  meeting  house." 

We  have  said  that  to  all  appearances  the  "elder  parish"  was  in 
a  prosperous  condition  at  the  death  of  Rev.  Daniel  Brewer.  There 
were  deep  elements  of  discord,  however,  which  needed  but  little  prov- 
ocation to  rise  to  the  surface.  This  remark  refers  to  the  whole  com- 
monwealth. The  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  is  often  looked 
upon  as  uneventful  in  comparison  with  the  fiery  days  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary period.  But  it  was  an  age  of  transitions  that  is  of  intense 
interest  to  the  student.  Whether  for  good  or  evil,  there  was  in  prog- 
ress a  tremendous  revolution,  —  political,  social,  and  religious. 
•'  New  England  has  been  at  the  best  always  too  faulty  in  that  ver}' 
character,  —  a  province  very  talkative  and  ingenious  for  the  vilifying 
of  its  publick  servants,"  complained  Cotton  Mather,  whose  quick  eye 


216  SPRTXG  FIELD,    1636-1886. 

detected  the  landslide.  But  it  was  more  than  a  neglect  to  bow  to 
the  dictum  of  the  ministers.  In  this  town  the  fashion  was  early  set 
to  choose  laj'men  rather  than  ministers  as  leaders,  and  j^et  the  change 
was  quite  as  marked  here  as  elsewhere. 

This  is  no  treatise  on  theology,  but  the  history  of  the  Springfield 
people  cannot  be  written  and  its  theology  ignored.  The  Puritan 
fathers  held  that  the  churches  should  be  made  up  of  "  visible  saints" 
only.  Baptized  persons  were  at  first,  at  least,  subject  to  reprimands 
and  discipline  even  before  entering  into  full  fellowship.  The  church- 
membership  of  persons  who  grew  up,  married,  and  presented  their 
children  for  baptism  without  themselves  going  to  the  communion 
caused  disquietude.  To  illustrate :  Brother  A.  is  a  member  in  full 
communion,  and  presents  his  son  B.  for  baptism.  B.,  when  grown 
up,  neglects  to  make  a  public  declaration  of  repentance,  and  thus  is 
never  admitted  to  the  Lord's  supper,  but  he  in  turn  presents  his  son 
C.  for  baptism.  The  question  was  whether  the  Abrahamic  covenant 
would  be  potent  with  the  infant  C.  if  baptized,  by  virtue  of  the 
church  membership  of  Grandfather  A.  The  New  P^ngiand  divines 
disagreed,  and  there  were  eventually  enough  non-professing  church- 
members  and  enough  infant  C.'s  presented  for  baptism  to  disturb  the 
deepest  faith.  A  ministerial  assembly  called  by  the  New  England 
Legislatures  met  at  Boston  in  1657,  decided  that  the  sons  B.  could 
present  their  children  C.  for  baptism  provided  the  B.'s  were  not-scan- 
dalous,  and  solemnl}^  aver  the  covenant  in  their  own  persons.  This 
was  given,  however,  "  with  due  reverence  for  any  godly  learned  that 
may  dissent." 

These  half-way  covenanters  were  not  allowed  to  come  to  the  Lord's 
supper.  The  churches  were  thus  made  up  of  those  in  an  intermedia- 
tory  or  probationary  state  and  of  those  in  full  communion.  The 
ranks  of  the  former  class  were  fast  growing,  and  quite  possibly  led 
some  of  the  ministers  to  re\iew  and  restate  their  belief  as  to  church- 
membership.  Rev.  Solomon  Stoddard,  of  Northampton,  was  the  first, 
or  at  least  the  most  prominent,  minister  who  felt  compelled  to  break 


S  PR  rXG  FIELD,    1636-1 8S6.  217 

down  the  wall  that  was  splitting  the  churches.  He  saw  no  more  rea- 
son why  prayerful  and  earnest-minded  persons,  who  had  been  bap- 
tized, should  be  deprived  of  the  benefit  of  the  sacraments  than  of  read- 
ing the  Bible.  Mr.  Stoddard  therefore  proclaimed  himself  a  believer 
in  the  Lord's  supper  as  a  converting  ordinance.  The  moment  Stod- 
dard's pamphlet  reached  Boston,  Increase  ]Mather  prepared  another  in 
reply,  and  he  shot  it  like  a  bomb-shell  into  the  Connecticut  valley. 
Stoddard  returned  the  fire  (1709),  and  some  handsome  artillery  prac- 
tice followed  in  various  parts  of  New  England.  There  was  thunder 
all  round  the  sky.  Many  churches  in  this  valley  accepted  the 
Northampton  theor^^  and  practised  it.  It  interests  us  only  as  it 
admitted  into  full  communion  men  who  had  only  been  baptized,  and 
it  had  a  tendency  at  least  to  increase  the  influence  of  those  who  were 
constructive  rather  than  experimental  Christians.  Stoddard  was  fol- 
lowed at  Northampton  by  the  young  theological  giant,  Jonathan 
Edwards,  who  began  to  develop  doubts  as  to  the  soundness  of  Mr. 
Stoddard's  views,  and  to  look  with  distrust  upon  such  '^  visible 
saints."  He  began  eventually  that  terrible  battle  for  the  reposses- 
sion of  the  still,  cold  heights  of  Puritanism  which  has  made  his  name 
famous  in  the  polemical  world. 

But  what  was  the  spiritual  condition  of  the  churches  of  this  valley 
at  this  period?  We  believe  that  even  back  of  the  filtration  of  the 
half-way  covenanters  was  working  the  natural  law  of  reaction,  of 
which  the  half-way  covenant  was  a  straw  flying  in  the  wind.  Why 
should  so  many  have  refused  to  disclose  their  conviction  of  sin  and 
enter  into  full  connuunion?  Scientifically  speaking,  it  was  a  case  of 
exhausted  nature.  In  the  early  days  the  unbending  armor  of  Puri- 
tanism was  fitted  to  man,  woman,  and  child  alike.  In  time  came  an 
enervation  of  will  and  spirit.  The  poor  children  were  the  greatest 
sufferers.  Men  had  subjected  themselves  to  fearful  fasts  and  self- 
abnegations  ;  that  was  their  privilege  ;  they  then  put  their  young  in 
training  for  like  solemnities  of  daily  living.  "Children,"  said  Cot- 
ton Mather,  after  the  promulgation  of  almost  monastic  rules,  "  don't 


218  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

you  forget  every  day  to  go  alone  and  pray  as  I  have  directed  you." 
Cotton  Mather  had  fifteen  children,  and  only  two  survived  him.  This 
fearful  mortality  in  children  was  no  accident.  Abraham  himself 
could  not  have  rescued  children  enough  to  become  a  respectable  pa- 
triarch if  a  Cotton  Mather  had  been  given  the  training  of  his  family. 
Men  who  crossed  the  Atlantic,  fairly  inviting  a  howling  wilder- 
ness to  press  down  with  its  terrors,  in  order  to  worship  the  living 
God  according  to  their  consciences,  saw  their  grandchildren  growing 
up  with  no  desire  to  make  use  of  the  privileges  of  the  gospel,  brought 
to  their  very  cradles.  The  third  and  fourth  generations  were  not 
disposed  to  consider  every  odd  character  in  the  village  a  witch.  Min- 
isters were  not  so  implicitly  listened  to ;  scepticism,  frivolity,  loose 
manners,  and,  alas  !  looser  morals,  followed.  The  reaction  was  se- 
rious. The  attempt  to  carry  human  nature  up  by  main  force  threat- 
ened to  end  in  hurling  it  into  the  depths.  There  is  abundant  evidence 
that  tavern-haunting,  Sabbath-breaking,  loose  and  vicious  conversa- 
tion and  immoralities  between  the  sexes  were  distressingly  common. 
In  order  to  make  complete  comparisons,  it  will  be  necessary,  on 
account  of  defective  records,  to  select  the  year  1738.  But  what  was 
true  of  1738  had  been  measurably  true  for  a  score  of  years.  "We 
find  that  the  Springfield  selectmen  in  January,  1738,  consisting  of 
William  Pynchon,  John  Day,  and  Samuel  Cooley,  made  out  a  valua- 
tion and  assessment  roll  in  four  parts,  and  gave  them  to  the  four 
town  constables.  The  list  intrusted  to  Constable  John  Munn,  of 
property  apparently  upon  the  east  side  of  the  river,  contained  the 
following  names  of  tax-payers  :  — 

John  Hancock,  Increase  Sikes,  Jr.,  Widow  Hannah  Sikes,  Ebenezer  Liim- 
bard,  Simon  Smith,  Jonathan  Stevenson,  Israel  Warner,  Benjamin  Knowlton, 
Benjamin  Warruier,  Joseph  Burt,  Samuel  Warner,  Estate  of  Ebenezer  War- 
riner,  Daniel  Cadwell,  Moses  Bartlet,  Obadiah  Cooley,  Benjamin  Sikes,  Samuel 
Warner,  Jr.,  Lt.  John  Burt,  John  Burt,  Jr.,  Increase  Sikes,  estate  of  Samuel 
Sikes,  Thomas  Stiles,  Jonathan  Bartlet,  Ebenezer  Stebbins,  Jr..  John  Munn, 
Dea.  Henry    Burt,    Robert  Ashley,   Robert  Harris,  Moses  Burt,   James  Burt, 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  219 


Timothy  Bliss,  Abel  Bliss,  Edward  Bliss,  Abner  Ely,  Jedediah  Bliss,  John  Har- 
mon, Lieut.  John  Ferre,  John  Ferre,  Jr.,  Ebenezer  Warner,  Jonathan 
Day,  Widow  Elizur  Sikes.  Joseph  Sikes,  Samuel  Bliss,  John  Morgan, 
Gersham  Ferre,  David  Warriner,  Ephraim  Bartlet,  Samuel  Bartlet,  James 
Warriner,  William  Bliss,  Jr.,  Widoiv  Hannah  White,  Pelatiah  Hitchcock,  Josei?7i 
Warriner,  Widow  Ruth  Ingersoll,  Samuel  Marshfield,  Capt.  John  Mirrick, 
Thomas  Mirrick,  Jr.,  Thomas  Mirrick,  David  Mirrick,  Moses  Mirrick,  Lieut. 
Pelatiah  Bliss,  Luke  Bliss,  Jonathan  Church,  William  Pjaichon,  Jeremiah  Horton, 
Thomas  Horton,  Benjamin  Horton,  Benjamin  Horton,  Jr.,  Timothy  Horton, 
John  Horton,  Daniel  Warner,  Benjamin  Brooks,  Samuel  Brooks,  Noah  Brooks, 
Widow  Hannah  Beaman,  Jonathan  Bartlet,  Samuel  Huggins,  John  Miller,  3d, 
Noah  Alvard,  George  Mather,  Nathaniel  Brewer,  Katherine  Brewer,  Jonathan 
BUss,  Benjamin  Wait,  Jonathan  Warriner,  Cornelius  Jones,  Benjamin  Dorches- 
ter, Edmond  Newman,  Elijah  Stetson,  William  BUss. 

The  largest  tax-payers  in  the  above  list  are  Obadiah  Cooley,  Lieut. 
John  Burt,  Thomas  Horton,  William  Pynehou,  and  Jedediah  Bliss. 

Constable  John  Hitchcock,  Jr.,  was  intrusted  with  the  following 
list,  which  seems  to  be  for  property  in  the  Chicopee  part  of  the 
town  :  — 

Ebenezer  Hitchcock.  John  Wyse,  Thomas  Ferre,  Samuel  Ferre,  Jonathan 
Old,  B.  Vanhorn,  Henry  Chapin.  Ensign  Benjamin  Chapin,  Benjamin  Chapin, 
Jr.,  Isaac  Chapin,  Henry  Wright,  David  Chapin,  David  Chajnn,  Jr.,  Jonathan 
Chapin,  John  Chapin,  Thomas  Chapin,  Japhet  Chapin,  Elisha  Chapin,  Samuel 
Chapin,  Caleb  Chapin,  Abel  Chapin,  Josiah  Chapin,  John  Chapin,  Jr.,  Robert 
Old,  Nathaniel  Chapin,  Cornelius  Webb,  Samuel  Stebbins,  Jr.,  Aaron  Stebbins, 
Col.  John Pynchon,  William  Pynchon,  Jr.,  Thomas  Warriner,  William  Warriner, 
Nathaniel  Warriner,  Ephraim  Stiles,  Luke  Hitchcock,  Luke  Hitchcock,  3d,  Ser- 
geant Daniel  Parsons,  Jaroji  Hitchcock,  Daniel  Parsons,  Jr.,  Aaron  Parsons, 
Lieut.  John  Worthington.  Benjamin  Colton,  estate  of  Pelatiah  Glover,  Pelatiah 
Glover,  Thomas  Glover.  Samuel  Glover,  Jonathan  Morgan,  John  Lamb,  Daniel 
Lamb,  Widow  Hannah  Kelly,  Noah  Parsons,  Joseph  Dorchester,  James  Williston. 
James  Williston,  Jr.,  Luke  Hitchcock,  Jr..  Thomas  Stebbins,  Caleb  Stebbins, 
John  Stebbins.  Jr.,  John  Stebbins,  Ebenezer  Stebbins,  Joseph  Stebbins,  Wm. 
Sanderson,  Samuel  Jones,  David  Jones,  Ensign  John  Hitchcock,  Nathaniel 
Hitchcock,  Dea.  Nathaniel  Munn,  Nathaniel  Munn,  Jr.,  Samuel  Munn,  Ebenezei- 


^20  SPRINGFIELD,     1636-1886. 


Morgan,  John  Hitchcock,  Jr.,  Gideon  Pratt,  Henry  Wright,  Jr.,  Jonathan  Cha- 
ptn,  Jr.,  Isaac  Brewer,  Nathaniel  Stonks. 

The  largest  tax-payers  aboTe  are  John  Worthington,  James  Wil- 
liston,  John  Pynchon,  John  Chapin,  John  Lamb,  and  Henry  Wright. 

The  list  committed  to  Constable  Day  for  West  Springfield  property 
was  as  follows  :  — 

Joseph  Ely,  2d,  John  Day,  Jr.,  Benjamin  Jones,  Timo.  M.  Krancy,  Benjamin 
Ashley,  Ebenezer  Parsons,  Jr.,  Nathaniel  Ely,  Dea.  Joseph  Ely,  Ebenezer  Ash- 
ley, Ebenezer  Morgan,  Jr.,  Samuel  Morgan,  Samuel  Barker,  Pet:  Morgan,  Jr., 
John  Bagg,  Jr.,  Ens.  John  Bagg,  James  Bagg,  Nathaniel  Morgan,  Miles  Mor- 
gan, Joseph  Morgan,  James  Morgan,  Isaac  Morgan,  Jonathan  Bagg,  David  Ba-g 
Ichabod  Miller,  Josiah  Miller,  James  Taylor,  John  Carew,  Ebenezer  Taylor,' 
Ashael  Taylor,  Pelatiah  IMorgan,  Thomas  Miller,  2d,  Nathaniel  Sikes.  Benjamin 
Stebbins,  Jr.,  Jonathan  Taylor,  Francis  Ball,  Thomas  Miller,  Nathaniel  Atchin- 
son,  Jas.  Mirrick,  Jr.  (Estate).  Jonathan  White,  Samuel  Ball,  Nathaniel  Wil- 
hston,  John  Williston,  Dea.  Ebenezer  Parsons,  Caleb  Parsons,  Christopher 
Vanhorn,  Josiah  Day,  Dea.  John  Ely,  Reuben  Ely,  Caleb  Ely,  Joseph  Mirrick, 
Samuel  Ely,  Benjamin  Pike,  Samuel  Taylor,  Jr.,  Ebenezer  Day,  Ebenezer  Day, 
Jr.,  Benjamin  Stebbins,  Francis  Stebbins,  Amos  Taylor,  Samuel  Day,  Widow 
Maria  Day,  Thomas  Day,  Nathaniel  Ely,  2d,  Thomas  Killum,  Samuel  Lamb 
John  Rogers,  Charles  Ferre,  Sen.  (Dec'i  estate),  Ebenezer  Miller.  Jr.,  Jonathan 
Miller,  Samuel  Taylor,  Jonathan  Smith.  Benjamin  Smith,  Job  Smith,  William 
Smith,  Benj.  Smith,  Jr.,  Jos.  Huggins,  John  Combs,  Benoni  Jones,  Dr.  Joseph 
Ely,  John  Miller,  Ebenezer  Miller,  Sen. 

The  highest  tax-payers  above  were  Jonathan  Bagg,  Dea.  John  Ely, 
Benjamin  Stebbins,  Ensign  John  Bagg,  and  Pelatiah  Morgan. 
Constable  Cooper's  list,  also  West  Springfield  property  :  — 

Benjamin  Ball,  John  Ely,  3d,  Joseph  Miller,  Henry  Rogers,  Nathi  Dumble- 
ton's  estate,  John  Dumbleton,  Samuel  Dumbleton,  Capt.  John  Day,  Wid.  Sarah 
Leonard,  Lt.  James  Mirrick,  Capt.  Nath>  Downing,  John  Downing,  John  Barber, 
John  Miller,  2d,  Moses  Miller,  Timothy  Cooper,  Wm.  M'Intire,  Jr.,  Ebenezer 
Leonard,  Dr.  John  Leonard,  Abel  Leonard,  John  Remington,  John  Worthington, 
Joseph   Ball,  Joseph  Leonard,  Lt.    Jos.  Leonard.  Sen.    (Deed  estate).    Moses 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1S86.  221 

Leonard,  Samuel  Leonard,  Josiah  Leonard,  Josiah  Leonard,  Jr.,  Joseph  Bodur- 
tha,  W'».  M'Intire,  Lamberton  Cooper,  Tilly  Mirrick  (Dec'i  estate),  Ebenezer 
Cook,  Nathaniel  Bancroft,  Samuel  Bancroft,  Ens.  Jos.  Colton,  John  Barber,  Jr., 
Jonathan  Ball,  Jr.,  John  Stevenson,  John  White,  Samuel  Mirick,  Eliakim  Copley, 
Isaac  Frost,  John  Frost,  Abraham  Frost,  Benj.  Bodurtha,  Jonathan  Bodurtha, 
Daniel  Cooley,  Daniel  Cooley,  Jr.,  Benajah  Stevenson,  John  Fowler,  Christopher 
Fowler,  John  Fowler,  Jr.,  John  Pengilly,  David  Smith,  Capt.  Jos.  Winchell, 
James  PhiUips,  Thomas  Smith,  Luke  Day,  Joseph  Sheldon,  Abel  Leonard,  Jr., 
Benj.  Sheldon,  John  Miner,  Nathan  Phillips,  John  Dorchester,  Benj.  Leonard, 
Thomas  Bancroft,  Rebecca  Evans,  Abel  Marley,  Abraham  Adams,  Daniel  Ash- 
ley, Eldad  Barker,  George  Miner,  Jonathan  Purchase. 

The  highest  tax-payers  were  Col.  John  Day,  Ebenezer  Leonard,  Dr. 
John  Leonard,  and  Lieut.  James  ]Mirrick. 

Constable  Colton's  list  for  Longmeadow  property  :  — 

Capt.  Isaac  Colton,  Isaac  Colton,  Sen.,  Ebenezer  Colton,  William  Colton,  Sam- 
uel Keep,  Jr.,  Lt.  John  Colton,  Ens.  Samuel  Keep,  Ens.  Thos.  Colton,  Samuel 
Colton,  Lt.  Eph.  Colton,  Thomas  Hail,  Jonathan  Hail,  Thomas  Hail,  Jr.,  Noah 
Hail,  Capt.  George  Colton,  Wid.  Hannah  Burt,  David  Burt,  Sen.,  Samuel  Crow- 
foot, John  Burt,  2nd,  Joshua  Field,  John  Bliss,  Thos.  Bliss,  2d,  Eben--  Bliss,  2d, 
Nathaniel  Bliss,  Nathaniel  Bliss,  Jr.,  Eph:  Colton,  Jr.,  Simon  Colton,  Dea. 
Jonath"  Ely,  Dea.  Nathaniel  Burt,  David  Burt,  2d,  Eben'"  Bhss,  Sen.,  Thos. 
Bliss,  Sen.,  Sam'  Stebbins,  Stephen  Stebbins,  Wid.  Ab:  Stebbins,  Jonath" 
Stebbins,  Aaron  Stebbins,  Timothy  Nash,  Ens.  W"^  Stebbins,  Joseph  Cooley, 
Dr.  Jos.  Pynchon,  John  Steel,  Eliakim  Cooley,  Josiah  Cooley,  Corp.  Sam^ 
Cooley,  Israel  Cooley,  Jolm  Cooley,  Thomas  Field,  Jonath"  Cooley,  Henry  Wol- 
cott,  Amos  Stiles,  Wid.  Ab.  Cooley,  Joshua  Atchinson,  Ed:  Pynchon,  Joshua 
^NIoseAvell,  John  Hail,  Jr. 

The  largest  tax-payers  were  Capt.  George  Colton,  Samuel  Colton, 
Ensign  Samuel  Keep,  Lieut.  John  Colton,  Thomas  Field,  Dea. 
Nathaniel  Burt,  Shnon  Colton,  and  Ensign  Thomas  Colton. 

We  have  printed  the  members  of  the  Springfield  church  in  the 
above  lists  in  italics,  so  that  it  will  be  seen  at  a  glance  how  large  a 
proportion  had  kept  out  of  the  fold.    Among  the  slave-holders  of  that 


222 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636 -1886. 


day  were  several  members  of  the  Pyncbou  family,  as  well  as  Samuel 
and  Ephraim  Coltoo,  of  LoDgmeadow,  and  Capt.  John  Day,  Lieut. 
James  Mirrick,  John  Ely,  and  Benjamin  Ball,  of  West  Springfield. 

From  the  first  parish  records  it  appears  that  there  were  upon  the 
rolls  between  1736  and  1738  only  the  following  in  full  communion. 
Quite  a  number  in  the  list  had  withdrawn  from  the  Springfield  church 
in  1638,  a  majority  of  them  going  to  Springfield  Mountains,  which 
eventually  became  Wilbraham. 


Alvord,  Mrs.  Noah, 
Ashley,  Joseph, 
Bartlet,  Hannah, 

"       Jonathan  and  wife, 

"        Miriam, 
Bliss,  Mrs.  Pelatiah, 
"      Widow, 

"       Mrs.  William  and  daughter, 
Brewer,  Charles, 

"         Isaac, 

"         Nathaniel, 
Burt,  Dea.  Henry,  wife  and  daughter, 
"      James, 
"      Mrs.  James, 
"      James,  Jr.,  and  wife, 
"      John,  Jr.,  and  wife, 
"      Joseph's  daughter, 
Chapin,   Abel  and  wife, 

"         Benjamin  and  wife, 

"         David,  wife  and  daughter, 
David,  Jr., 

"         Elisha, 

"         Esther, 

"  Hannah,  (widow) 

"         Henry, 

''         Mrs.  Isaac, 

"         Japhet  and  wife. 


Chapin,   Jonathan,  wife  and  daughter, 
''         Jonathan,  Jr., 
"         Jonathan  and  wife   (of  King- 
ston) 
"         Josiah, 

"         Thomas,  Mife  and  three  daugh- 
ters. 
Crowfoot,  Mrs.  John, 
"  John,  Jr., 

'•  Thomas, 

Dorchester,  Mrs.  Benjamin, 
Eerre,  Gersham, 
"      John, 

"       Samuel  and  wife, 
"       Thomas, 
Foot,  ]Mrs.  Thomas, 
Hancock,  Mrs.  John, 
Harmon,  Mrs.  John, 
Hitchcock,  Aaron, 
"  Ann, 

"  Mrs.  Ebenezer, 

"  John  and  wife, 

"  Luke  and  wife, 

"  Luke,  Jr.,  and  wife, 

"  Nathaniel, 

"  Widow, 

Horton,   Benjamin,  Jr.,  and  wife, 
"         Thomas's  daughter, 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-2886. 


223 


IngersoU,  Mrs.  (widow), 
Jones,  David  and  wife, 
Kellogg,  Widow  K.'s  daughter, 
Knowlton,  Benjamin  and  wife, 

Miriam, 
Lamb,  Hulda, 

Lombard,  Mrs.  Ebenezer  and  daughter, 
Marshfield's  negro  servant  Dinah, 
Miller,  Mrs.  John, 

"        John,  Jr., 
Mirrick,  Mrs.  Capt., 
Morgan,  Ebenezer, 
Munn,  Nathaniel  and  two  daughters, 

"        Nathaniel,  Jr., 
Parsons,  Aaron, 

"         Widow  Abigail, 

"         Mrs.  Daniel, 

Mrs.  Daniel,  Jr., 
Pierce,  Jonathan, 

Pynolion,  Mrs.  Col.  William  and  daugh- 
ter, 
Sanderson,  William, 
Sikes,  Mrs.  Benjamin, 

"     Increase, 

"     Mrs.  Increase,  Jr., 

"     Samuel,  Jr., 

''     Widow  Thankful, 
Smith,  Simon, 


Stebbins,  Ebenezer, 
John,  Jr., 
' '         Joseph, 
"         Mrs.  Joseph, 
"         Thomas, 
Stevinson,  Mrs.  Jonathan, 
Taylor,  Elizabeth, 
Thomas,  Sarah, 
Vanhorn,  Elizabeth, 
Warner,  Mary, 

Samuel,  wife  and  daughter, 
"        Sarah, 
Warriner,  Mrs.  Benjamin, 
David, 
"  Mrs.  Ebenezer, 

"  Elizabeth, 

''  Joseph  and  daughter, 

Martha, 
"  Mary, 

"  William  and  wife, 

Webb,  Cornelius  and  wife, 
Wliite,  Mrs.  (widow)  and  daughter, 
Williston,  Joseph  and  wife, 
Williston,  Joseph,  Jr., 
Worthington,  John  and  wife, 
Wright,  Mrs.  Henry. 
"         Mrs.  Henry,  Jr. 


Waiving  the  names  of  the  dead,  and  of  those  who  had  withdrawn 
from  the  church,  less  than  sixty  were  church-members.  Thus,  much 
less  than  half  the  land-owners  on  the  east  side  were  in  full  communion, 
and  they,  too,  not  including  the  most  important  names  in  the  com- 
munity. Men  held  office  here  who  were  not  church-members  in  full 
communion,  and  these  long  lists  we  will  be  justified  in  transcribing, 
if  it  illustrates  more  fully  the  change  that  had  come  over  the  spirit  of 
Springfield's  dreams.     The  Pynchons   and   the  Glovers  were  not  rep- 


224  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6. 

resented  od  the  male  side,  and  even  the  wife  of  the  minister,  Eunice 
Breck,  daughter  of  the  previous  minister,  as  well  as  her  mother,  were 
not  members.  Some  of  the  best  people  in  the  community  neglected 
to  take  the  covenant. 

But  how  had  the  status  of  the  freeman  changed  during  these  years? 
Jn  the  beginning,  as  has  been  said,  no  one  in  Massachusetts  could  be 
made  a  freeman  but  church-members.  It  was  ordered  (1634)  that 
the  General  Court,  only,  should  have  power  to  admit  freemen.  This 
was  followed  up  the  next  year  by  a  vote  prohibiting  any  but  freemen 
voting  in  any  town  on  questions  of  "  aucthorit}^  or  necessity,"  such 
as  receiving  inhabitants,  and  laying  out  lots,  etc.  There  would 
seem  to  lie  an  implied  right  or  privilege  of  voting  on  lesser  matters. 
Thus  a  member  of  a  training-band  could  vote  for  the  officers,  although 
not  a  freeman,  provided  he  liad  taken  the  resident's  oath,  and  balloted 
for  freemen  only.  The  churches  were  warned  to  deal  with  those' who 
were  not  inclined  to  become  freemen,  and  this  not  producing  the 
desired  effect,  the  General  Court  came  to  the  conclusion  (1647)  that 
it  was  best  to  allow  inhabitants  who  had  taken  the  oath  of  fidelity  to 
be  eligible  to  town  offices,  even  though  not  freemen,  provided  the 
freemen  on  the  board,  as  selectmen  or  townsmen,  should  still  consti- 
tute a  majority.  The  object  of  this  was  to  put  a  stop  to  the  prac- 
tice among  church-members  of  escaping  duty  as  jurymen,  constables, 
surveyors  of  highways,  and  the  like,  by  refusing  to  become  freemen. 
And  to  give  point  to  the  above  order  these  men  were  visited  with 
fines  if  the}^  refused  to  serve  when  elected.  In  1658  it  was  ordered 
that  regular  inhabitants  above  twenty-four  years  of  age,  with  an 
estate  of  £20,  who  had  taken  the  oath  of  fidelity  (not  freeman's  oath), 
were  eligible  as  jurymen  and  constables,  and  could  vote  for  select- 
men, a  majority  of  the  latter  to  be  freemen.  Church-membership,  as 
to  the  qualification  of  freemen,  was  reaffirmed  two  years  later.  Now, 
the  question  is,  could  an  inhabitant,  not  freeman,  refrain  from  being 
a  full  communicant,  and  still  vote  in  the  prudential  affairs  of  the 
town,  under  the    above  law?     He    undoubtedly  could.     All  inhabi- 


SPBLVf;  FIELD,    1636-1S86.  225 

taiits  were  compelled,  after  reinaiuiiig  two  mouths,  to  take  the  short 
oatli  of  fidelity  to  the  ]Vrassachiisetts  government,  and  there  was  no 
church-membership  re([uirement  in  this  oath. 

But  the  King  of  England's  attention  to  his  obdurate  New  England 
dependency  forced  the  march  of  events  as  to  religious  qualification. 
Charles  II.  wrote  a  letter  to  the  General  Court  in  June,  li;G2,  direct- 
ing that  -'all  the  freeholders  of  competent  estates,  not  vicious  in 
conversacon,  &  orthodoxe  in  religion  (though  of  different  persua- 
sions concerning  church  government)  may  have  their  votes  in  the 
election  of  all  officers  both  civil  and  military."  This  forced  the 
General  Court  to  repeal  the  law  prohibiting  all  p(a's<jns  but  church- 
members  from  l)ecoming  freemen  ;  but  the  court  at  once  decreed  that 
"  all  Englishmen"  presenting  a  certificate  from  a  minister  that  they 
were  orthodox  in  religion,  and  could  show  that  they  were  freeholders, 
paid  a  country  rate  of  ten  shillings,  "or  that  they  are  in  full  com- 
imuiion  with  some  church  amongst  us,"  and  are  twenty-four  years  of 
age,  might  be  admitted  freemen  by  the  General  Court  upon  a  majority 
vote.  This  was  evidently  a  case  wdiere  repeal  did  not  necessarily 
repeal.  The  majority-vote  clause  was  considered  a  reflection  upon 
the  king  and  the  Church  of  England. 

In  1664  men  who  were  freemen  were  allowed  to  take  the  freeman's 
oath  before  the  County  Couits.  King  Charles  was  very  explicit  in  his 
demands  that  no  British  subject  using  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer 
should  be  debarred  thereby  from  full  political  privileges  under  the 
charter  of  his  royal  father.  This  was  the  beginning  of  a  terrible 
struggle.  The  king,  ui  his  wratli,  sent  a  w\ar  vessel,  which  reached 
Boston  harbor  ui  1664,  the  first  ever  seen  in  those  waters,  and  the 
royal  commissioners  were  instructed  to  see  to  it,  that  "  such  who 
desu-e  to  use  the  Booke  of  Comon  Prayer,  may  be  permitted  to  do  soe 
without  incurring  any  poenalty,  reproach,  or  disadvantage  in  his  inter- 
est, it  being  very  scandalous  that  any  persons  should  be  debarred  the 
exercise  of  his  religion  according  to  the  lawes  &  custome  of  England, 
})y  those  who,  by  the  indulgence,  have  liberty  left  to  be  what  profes- 


226  SPRINGFIELD,     1636-1886. 

sion  ill  religion  they  please.  In  a  word,  that  persf)ns  of  good  and 
honest  conversations,  who  have  lived  long  there,  may  enjoy  all  the 
privileges,  ecclesiastical  &  civil,  which  are  dne  to  them,  &  which  are 
enjoyed  by  others,  as  to  choose  &  be  chosen  in  places  of  government, 
&  the  like,  &  that  differences  in  opinion  doe  not  lesson  their  charity 
to  each  other,  since  charity  is  a  fnndamentall  in  religion."  It  was  a 
dark  day  for  Massachnsetts.  The  court  lost  no  time  in  responding 
that  "  The  all-knowing  God,  he  knows  onr  greatest  ambition  is  to 
live  a  poor  and  a  quiet  life  in  a  corner  of  the  world,  without  offence 
to  God  or  man.  We  came  not  to  this  wilderness  to  seek  great  things 
to  ourself.  .  .  .  We  keep  ourselves  within  our  line,  and  meddle  not 
with  matters  abroad."  But  what  odds?  The  royal  commissioners 
had  brought  a  Church  of  England  chaplain,  and  in  the  summer  of 
1664  the  Episcopal  service  was  first  read  in  Boston.  The  battle 
against  a  religious  qualification  had  been  won,  and  we  find  this  order 
made  October,  1673  :  "  That  henceforth  the  names  of  such  as  desire 
to  be  admitted  to  the  freedome  of  this  comon-wealth,  not  being  mem- 
bers of  churches  in  full  communion,  shall  be  entered  w"'  the  secre- 
tory, from  time  to  time,  at  the  Court  of  Election,  and  read  over 
before  the  Avhole  court  some  time  that  session,  and  shall  not  be  put  to 
vote  in  the  Court  till  the  Court  of  Election  next  foUowg."  This 
pro^dsion  was  subsequently  repealed,  but  by  the  time  of  the  burning 
of  Springfield  the  whole  structure  of  a  political  cori)oration  founded 
upon  Puritan,  Non-conformist,  Calvinistic  interpretations  of  the  Bible 
had  been  shaken.  There  was  still  no  chance  for  a  Baptist  or 
Quaker  to  become  freemen  ;  but  the  Church  of  England  was  on  tlie 
roll  of  qualifications  implied  in  true  orthodoxy  which  admitted  in- 
habitants to  freemen,  even  though  not  in  full  comnmnion  with  any 
New  England  church.  Therefore,  between  the  natural  reaction  from 
the  New  P]ngland  discipline  among  the  "living  saints"  and  their 
progeny,  and  the  cruder  infelicities  of  mind  in  the  common  walks  of 
life,  where  elaborate  schemes  of  religion  breed  scepticism  and  open 
revolt,  the  churches  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  were 


SPRIXGFIELDy    1636-1886.  227 

great  sufferers.  The  period  is  the  low  ebb  of  Congregationalism,  and 
while  our  church  records  before  the  Breck  ministry  are  meagre,  the 
traces  of  the  moral  transitions  and  distractions  are  not  wanting. 

Rev.  Stephen  Williams,  a  very  remarkable  man,  was  already 
preaching  in  Longnieadow,  where  a  part  of  the  Springfield  congrega- 
tion had  gathered  ;  and  Mr.  Williams  had  a  peculiar  way  of  recording 
his  thoughts,  —  a  kind  of  a  sentimental  journal  of  a  minister,  one 
might  call  his  literary  remains.  He  gives  definite  evidence  and  form 
to  the  traditions  of  those  times.  The  low  condition  of  morals  led  to 
many  conferences  among  the  brethren,  and  at  a  meeting  of  the  local 
churches  at  Chicopee,  Williams  was  uncompromising ;  the  moral 
landscape  that  he  saw  was  dismall}^  and  uupicturesquely  dark.  Here 
are  his  notes  of  what  he  said  upon  that  occasion  :  — 

Facts  :  Vices  abound  —  visible  and  manifest  evills  among  us  —  decay  of  y^ 
power  of  godliness  —  divine  institutions  neglected  by  many  —  some  unbaptised  — 
great  multitudes  never  join  themselves  to  the  churches  of  Christ  —  low  esteem  of 
ordinances  —  strifes  and  contentions  —  extravagant  dress  beyond  our  estates  and 
degree  —  family  gov^  and  instruction  neglected  —  how  many  children  ignorant 
of  the  first  rudiments  of  religion  and  without  civility  —  yea  and  without  instruc- 
tion in  reading  and  writing  —  intemperance,  much  drunkennesse,  tavern  haunting 
and  cheating  one  another ;  breaches  of  the  7th  commandt  and  not  to  insist  on  the 
abounding  of  adultery,  how  amazing  does  ye  sin  of  fornication  abound,  sinful 
company  keeping,  and  Avanton  managements  Avhich  possibly  may  be  meant  by  the 
apostle  when  he  speaks  in  Romans,  13;  13,  of  chambering  and  Avantoness. 

Mr.  Williams  drew  up  a  "  covenant  of  reformation"  for  his  Long- 
meadow  people,  but  there  is  nothing  to  indicate  at  this  time  (1728) 
that  Mr.  Brewer  did  the  same  for  the  first  parish. 

There  is  no  need  to  soil  this  page  by  transcripts  from  the  court 
records  of  these  days  in  support  of  the  charges  made  by  the  ministers 
as  to  the  general  demoralization,  but  we  will  hasten  to  narrate  the 
outcome.  Rev.  Daniel  Brewer  died  in  1733,  and  the  event  threw 
wide  the  door  to  the  uneasy   elements  that  were   already  moving  on 


228  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-ISS6. 

the  waters.  A  ''  pall  or  scarft"  creditable  to  eoiiver  coffins,"  which  was 
procured  the  same  year  at  an  expense  of  £9  1 5s. ,  was  i)rol  )ably  used 
at  Mr.  Brewer's  funeral. 

The  spring  of  1735  opened  unpropitiously  for  Springtield.  The  town 
was  closing  its  first  century,  and  eighty-live  ^^-ars  had  elapsed  since  the 
burning  of  William  P3aichon's  theological  book  in  the  Boston  market- 
place. Theology  had  again  become  a  burning  issue.  If  the  Pyu- 
chon  affair  had  ended  with  almost  the  breaking  up  of  the  plantation, 
the  controversies  in  1734-36  nearl}"  cleft  the  first  precinct  in  two. 
William  Pynchon's  doctrine  of  the  meritorious  price  of  man's  redemp- 
tion was  an  attempt  of  a  philosopher  to  perfect  an  intellectual 
scheme.  The  theory  of  redemption  that  contributed  to  the  controver- 
sies of  1734-36  was  occasioned  b}' a  charitable  sentiment  as  a  possible 
elaboration  of  prevailing  interpretations  of  the  Bible.  Both  the  con- 
troversies, we  have  reason  to  believe,  were  a  material  part  of  the  relig- 
ious clironicles  of  the  two  eras,  they  being  the  pegs,  as  it  were,  upon 
which  were  hung  those  garments  of  substantial  religious  faith  which 
no  people  cast  away. 

The  people  of  Springfield  awoke  on  the  8th  of  April,  1735,  with 
feelings  of  the  most  intense  excitement.  The  Hampshire  association 
of  ministers  had  been  called  to  assemble  at  Springfield  that  day  to 
consider  the  theological  views  of  Rev.  Robert  Breck,  whom  the  Fust 
Church  desired  to  place  in  the  pulpit  of  Brewer,  Glover,  and  Moxon. 
The  Hampshire  divines  were  a  remarkable  set  of  men.  The  patriarch 
was  the  venerable  William  Williams,  of  Hatfield  :  while  their  young- 
est preacher  was  Jonathan  Edwards,  of  Northampton,  but  thirty-two 
years  of  age,  and  yet  even  then  making  his  giant  arm  felt  amid  the 
broken  colunms  of  the  Puritan  polity.  There  was  also  the  famous 
Stephen  Williams,  of  Longmeadow,  who  had  the  spirit  of  a  Paul  in 
danger,  and  whose  boyhood  was  made  the  sport  of  Indian  warfare. 
There  were  also  Isaac  Chauncey,  of  Hadley  ;  Samuel  Hopkins,  of  West 
Springfield  ;  Peter  Reynolds,  of  Enfield  ;  Ebenezer  Devotion,  of  Suf- 
field  ;  William  Rand,  of  Sunderland ;  and  others. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-I8S6.  229 


The  Sprmgfield  cbuicli  was  so  divided  over  Mr.  Breck  that  even 
families  were  in  danger  of  rnirture.  Mr.  Breck  was  on  the  ground 
at  the  meeting  of  the  association  ready  to  defend  himself,  and  tliere 
was  evidence  in  abundance  prepared  by  way  of  attack. 

In  order  to  understand  the  situation  at  the  April  session  it  will  be 
necessary  to  go  back  a  year  and  more.  Mr.  Breck  was  the  son  of 
Rev.  Robert  Breck,  of  Marlborough.  Breck  took  the  first  honors  of  his 
class  at  Harvard,  in  1730,  at  the  age  of  seventeen.  He  had  been  taken 
out  for  a  time  by  his  father,  probably  because  he  had  fallen  into  evil 
company.  Physically  we  have  the  tradition  of  the  Breck  family  that 
Robert  was  of  sturdy  proportion,  and  mentally  we  know  from  his^  liter- 
ary remains  that  he  was  a  deep  thinker  and  a  fearless  controversialist 
who  did  not  hesitate  to  read  any  book,  ortliodox  or  otherwise,  that 
would  clear  up  a  subject.  He  was  as  good  an  example  of  genuine 
intuitions  as  could  be  found  in  this  ^-alley  before  the  Revolution. 
The  two  rising  young  men  of  this  valley  — Breck  and  Edwards  — 
set  at  work  at  about  the  same  time  to  examine  the  portals  of  the  ortho- 
dox faith, —one  with  doubt  and  the  other  with  a  lierculean  faith. 
One  held  up  the  shield  of  the  love  of  God,  and  the  other  brandished 
the  sword  of  the  glory  of  God  ;  one  had  the  heart  and  the  other  the 
intellect  of  theology,  and  both  felt  the  demoralization  of  Christian 
society  in  New  England.  They  and  their  respective  partisans  —  for 
that  is  the  word  to  use  -  met  in  open  combat,  and  the  results  were 
as  dramatic  as  the  immediate  conflict  was  terrible.  Breck  brought 
the  religion  of  Springfield  mto  the  revolutionary  period,  and  opened 
the  way  to  modern  ideas  ;  while  poor  Mr.  Edwards,  after  establishing 
his  metaphysical  scheme,  was  forced  to  retire  to  the  Stockbridge 
Indians  under  a  cloud.  Scholars  have  since  bowed  to  the  genius  of 
Edwards,  but  the  people  live  the  principles  of  Breck. 

The  parish  first  extended  a  unanimous  call  to  Rev.  Daniel  Hubbard, 
of  New  London.  Two  ineffectual  attempts  were  made  to  secure  Mr.' 
Hubbard,  William  Pynchon  and  John  Burt  going  down  first,  and  then 
Lieut.  John  Worthington  and  Thomas  Stebbins.     Meantime  Deacons 


230  SPRINGFIELD.    1636-1886. 


Munn  and  Burt  conducted  religious  services  from  time  to  time.  The 
precinct  then  tried  to  secure  Rev.  Samuel  Whittelsy,  or  Writtelsy,  of 
Wallingford,  Conn.,  and,  again  failing,  sent  Luke  Hitchcock,  Jr., 
to  Boston  in  1734. 

It  was  in  May,  1734,  that  the  first  parish  invited  the  youthful 
minister,  Robert  Breck,  to  preach  with  a  view  of  settlement ;  and  his 
impetuous  oratory  and  strong  periods  made  a  deep  impression  upon 
the  sleepy,  cold,  worldly-minded  congregation.  Breck  had  previously 
preached  for  a  short  time  at  Scotland  (Windham,  Conn.,)  and  soon 
rumors  were  afloat  that  his  Connecticut  sermons  were  not  in  all 
things  according  to  the  New  England  creed.  Breck  had  a  young 
man's  penchant  for  debate  and  speculation,  and  in  his  sermons  he 
continually  wandered  out  of  the  beaten  path  of  exhortation  and  com- 
mentary. A  letter  was  received  in  Springfield  from  Rev.  Eleazor 
Williams,  of  Mansfield,  Conn.,  dated  August  12,  stating  that  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Clap,  of  Windham,  and  Daniel  Ku'tland,  of  Norwich,  could 
furnish  full  particulars  of  Mr.  Breck's  unsound  opinions.  The  church 
gave  Mr.  Breck  a  call,  however,  on  the  15th,  and  on  the  26th,  Mr. 
Breck,  being  informed  that  Mr.  Clap  was  industriously  circulating 
reports  about  him,  wrote  a  very  spirited  letter  from  Cambridge,  in 
which  he  felt  justified  in  saying  :  — 

Sr.  I  took  you  always  to  be  a  Gentleman,  and  not  only  so,  but  a  Christian  and 
therefore  would  if  Possible  Disbelieve  any  such  story  (arianism).  But  it  has 
come  so  often  and  so  well  confirmed  that  I  cant  Help  Giving  my  Assent  to  it. 
And  now  what  Could  provoke  you  to  tell  such  a  falsehood  I  cant  Imagine.  I  am 
sure  I  never  gave  you  nor  any  otlier  occasion  to  say  this  for  me  as  God  (and  I 
can't  think  but)  your  Conscience  very  well  knows.  God  be  my  witness,  that  to 
the  best  of  my  knowledge  I  never  Lisped  one  single  Avord  in  favor  of  arianism 
during  the  whole  of  the  time  I  Avas  at  Wendham.  (Spring  of  1734.)  And  now 
HoAv  Intolerable  is  this.  Is  this  tlie  part  of  a  Christian  Gentleman  —is  this  the 
Part  of  a  Gentleman  and  a  Christian  ?  If  this  is  the  part  of  a  Friend  I  Pray  to  be 
Deliver'd.  Sr,  I  Hope  you  will  think  of  the  Barbarious  treatment  you  have  givn 
to  me  and  Unspeakable  and  Irreparable  Injury  you  have  done  me,  and  that  God 
Avill  Grant  you  Repentance  and  Keformation  that  so  Gentlemen  may  meet  Avith 


SPRINGFIELD,    2636-1SS6.  231 

Civil  treatment  Avho  Avill  liereafter  come  among  yon.  Sr,  Excnse  anything  of 
wr.rmtli  and  Passion  in  tliis  Letter  and  Consider  that  a  Persons  Character  is 
ilearer  to  him  than  it  is  to  anybody  else. 

Mr.  Breck  soon  after  this  visited  Springfield,  and  Mr.  Hopkins,  of 
AVest  Springfield,  detailed  to  him,  at  the  request  of  the  Hampshire 
ministers,  the  impression  caused  by  Mr.  Clap's  charges,  and  added, 
that  it  was  expected  of  him  to  bring  a  certificate  of  orthodox  character 
from  both  Kirtland  and  Clap.  This  was  September  7,  and  about 
three  weeks  later  jMr.  Breck  made  the  journey  to  Windham  and  met 
his  accuser.  The  meeting  ma}'  be  described  as  stormy,  and  tlie  young- 
man  returned  without  an  endorsement.  This  put  a  very  serious  as- 
pect on  the  affair,  and  a  majority  of  the  parish  were  much  disap- 
pointed. The  Hampshire  ministers  seeing  that  the  church  was  bent 
upon  settling  Breck,  secured  from  Messrs.  Clap,  Kirtland,  and  others 
written  statements  as  to  what  Breck  had  said  in  his  sermons  and  con- 
versations while  in  Connecticut.  The  main  points  of  the  charges  are  : 
First,  his  denial  of  the  aatlienticity  of  sundr}^  passages  of  Scripture, 
like  1  John  v.  7,  "  the  Father,  the  Word,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,"  and 
John  viii.,  concerning  the  woman  taken  in  adulter}^ ;  second,  that  he 
"•denied  the  necessity  of  Christ's  Satisfaction  to  Divine  Justice  for 
Sin;"  third,  he  preached  "  That  the  Heathen  that  liv'd  up  to  the 
Light  of  Nature  should  be  Saved  ;  "  that  Christ  might  be  immediately 
revealed  to  them,  or  the}"  might  be  saved  some  other  way  ;  that  the 
"contrary  was  a  harsh  Doctrine;"  fourth,  sundry  misdemeanors, 
like  "  stealing  Books  while  he  was  at  College  ;  "  and,  finally,  that  he 
had  never  read  the  New  England  Confession  of  Faith.  AVhen  con- 
fronted by  the  documents,  Mr.  Breck  told  the  Hampshire  ministers 
that  he  would  accept  the  call  if  the  people  stood  by  him,  and  as  for 
the  refusal  of  the  ministers  to  ordain  him,  he  produced  the  greatest 
consternation  by  promptly  remarking  to  Mr.  Hopkins,  who  represented 
the  association,  •'  I  don't  care  for  that ;  if  one  will  not,  another  will." 
The  ministers  then  circulated  the  documentary  evidence  against  Breck 


232  SPBL\G  FIELD,    1 636-1886. 

among  the  congregation,  and  the  result  was  that  the  young  man  re- 
turned to  the  Ba}',  having  couchided  to  withdraw  from  the  contest. 
But  there  soon  came  a  reaction,  and  on  November,  1734,  the  first  pre- 
cinct voted  to  appomt  Jonathan  Chapin,  Luke  Hitchcock,  Jr.,  and 
Thomas  Stebbius,  a  committee  to  find  out  as  to  "  Mr.  Breck's  Removal 
from  us,  it  being  commonly  Reported  that  some  Persons  of  Note  have 
indeavoured  to  obstruct  his  settlement  here  by  Wrightings  Lodged 
in  the  hands  of  some  of  the  Neighbouring  ministers."  This  com- 
mittee examined  the  Connecticut  documents,  and  upon  application 
to  the  association  for  advice,  William  AVilliams,  Isaac  Chauuce}', 
Jonathan  Edwards,  Stephen  Williams,  Samuel  Hopkins,  and  Peter 
Reynolds  signed  a  paper  recommending  the  people  of  Springfield 
to  make  no  further  application  to  Breck.  The  renewal  of  the  fight 
brought  Breck  on  the  scene  again.  He  did  not  mince  matters  when 
he  wrote  to  AVilliam  Pynchon  that  Mr.  Clap  had  lied,  and  that 
the  word  of  Huntington  (selectman  of  AVindham)  could  not  be  taken 
for  a  groat  by  his  neighbors.  The  church  was  now  thoroughly  con- 
vinced that  the}^  ought  to  settle  Breck,  as  the  following  record 
shows  :  — 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Freeholders  and  other  Inhal)itants  assembled  according  to 
Law  Continued  by  several  adjournments  from  December  9th,  17:U  To  January 
1st,  1731-5. 

1  voted  to  ask  Breck  to  preach  with  view  of  settlement. 

2  voted  to  send  John  Burt  and  Benj.  Morgan  to  Candjridge  to  consult  as  to  a 

minister. 

These  two  votes  represented  the  sentiments  of  the  Breck  and  anti- 
Breck  factious.  In  an  account  of  these  troubles,  prepared  a  year  or 
two  later,  the  ministers  said  that  "  There  were  reports  handed  about 
Town  that  Mr.  Kirtland  was  not  to  be  minded  ;  that  Mr.  Clap  lied  in 
what  he  wrote  ;  that  he  was  liable  to  a  severe  Prosecution  for  what  he 
had  done  ;  that  he  dare  as  well  eat  his  fingers  as  to  come  to  Spring- 
field to  defend  it :  that  Mr,  Huntinston  was  a  Man  of  a  verv  ill  Char- 


SPRINGFIELD,    2636-1886. 


ncter  ;  And  a  great  many  otlier  sueli  reports.  .  .  •  When  one  Story 
of  this  Nature  was  worn  out,  another  of  the  same  Kind  was  set  on 
Foot,  as  that  Mr.  Clap  wrote  Mr.  Huntington's  P^vidence  for  him  ; 
that  he  wrote  wliat  he  pleased,  and  that  Mr.  Huntington  knew  not 
what  was  in  it,  and  so  on.  And  there  is  too  much  Reason  to  think 
that  Mr.  Breck  was  the  Author  of  those  ill  Reports." 

No  more  need  be  quoted  to  show  the  animus  of  all  parties.  If  men 
like  Mr.  Edwards  and  Stephen  Williams  would  put  themselves  on 
record  as  above,  the  feeling  must  have  been  deep  indeed.  The  next 
step  of  the  Hampshire  ministers  was  to  secure  evidence  as  to  Mr. 
Huntington's  reliability  and  Mr.  Clap's  impartiality  ;  for  Clap,  who  it 
will  be  remembered  afterward  became  president  of  Yale  College,  was 
noted  for  his  intense  denunciations  of  theological  error.  To  show 
how  Clap  fortified  himself  we  give  this  long  extract  from  the  affidavit 
of  Samuel  Manning,  dated  Windham,  March  12,  173")  :  — 

Sam^'  Mannuig  testifieth  and  Saith  that  on  ye  Sabath  day  ensuing  after  ye 
Kevr^i  Mr  Clap  preached  at  Scotland  it  being  ye  Sabath  before  our  people  here 
gave  your  Mr.  Breck  a  call.  Josliua  Eazel  nnd  Sam"  Cook  and  I  desired  Mr. 
Clap  to  goe  into  Jacob  Libbe.s  litle  room  to  ask  his  judgment  about  Mr.  Breeks 
principles  and  accordingly  Ave  did  ask  him.  And  Mr.  Clap  sat  silent  some  time 
&  said  nothing  and  upon  our  asking  him  to  speak  Mr.  Clap  said  tliat  ^Nlr.  Breck 
Avas  a  stranger  to  him  and  he  could  not  readily  make  a  judgment  about  him ;  then 
he  Avas  asked  Avhether  he  had  talked  Avith  him  aboute  his  denying  some  part  of  ye 
scripture,  he  said  yes,  then  he  Avas  asked  Avhat  Mr.  Breck  said :  Mr.  Clap 
ansA\  ered  that  he  did  not  think  it  convenient  at  present  to  declare  espetially  since 
they  had  not  talked  so  much  as  to  enable  liim  to  make  a  clear  judgment.  Some 
of  us  urged  Mr.  Clap  several  times  Init  lie  said  very  little,  and  after  some  time 
one  of  us  said  that  he  thought  tliat  Mr.  Clap  had  had  time  long  enough  to  talk 
Avith  Mr.  Breck  and  Avondered  he  could  not  knoA\'  Avhat  his  principals  Avere  yet. 
Mr.  Clap  said  it  Avas  not  ahvays  so  easie  a  thing  to  knoAv  Avhat  a  mans  principals 
are  as  some  might  imagine. 

After  a  little  pause  some  of  us  jjroposed  to  call  ye  committee  of  the  associa- 
tion together  to  examine  Mr.  Breck  about  his  j)rincipals  before  the  meeting :  Mr 
Clap  said  it  was  an  unusual  thing  to  call  the  committee  of  the  association  to 
examine  a  man  so  upon  a  sudden,  and  Ave  might  depend  upon  it  that  the  associa- 


234  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6. 

tion  would  know  his  principals  before  they  ordained  him.  This  was  tlie  substance 
of  ye  discourse  aboute  Mr.  Brecks  principals  according  to  the  best  of  my  remem- 
brance, and  i  know  i  took  it  to  ye  same  eifect :  and  though  Mr.  Clap  seemed  very 
loth  to  say  anything  about  Mr.  Brecks  Principal  and  did  not  give  any  certain 
judgment  upon  them,  yet  i  was  then  fully  of  opinion  that  Mr.  Clap  did  suspect 
that  Mr.  Breck  was  something  erronious,  and  as  I  went  home  w*  my  neighbour 
Silsby  to  the  best  of  my  remembrance  i  told  him  i  did  believe  Mr.  Clap  was  sus- 
petious  of  him  and  i  think  he  answered  he  did  not  know  but  lie  might.  The  next 
day  i  was  at  Joshua  Lazel  and  he  asked  me  what  i  thought  of  these  storys.  i  told 
him  i  did  not  knoAv.  they  might  be  true  and  they  might  not :  i  was  more  con- 
sarned  about  his  principals  than  about  those  storys  :  he  answered  so  was  he  more 
consarned  aboute  his  principals,  and  for  my  own  part  i  was  so  much  consarned 
aboute  his  principals  that  i  doubted  whether  i  should  be  in  my  way  to  voate  for 
him  but  on  tliis  consideration  that  he  would  be  examined  by  the  ministers : 
accordingly  i  did  voate  for  him ;  and  whereas  i  have  heard  that  the  above  sd  Lazel 
and  Cook  have  said  that  on  the  conferance  aforesd  Mr.  Clap  said  he  did  not  know 
but  yt  Mr.  Brecks  principals  were  as  bright  as  any  mans  i  do  hereby  declare  y*  i 
did  not  hear  any  such  words  or  anything  that  tended  that  Avay.  ...  I  know 
when  Mr.  Breck  preached  here  in  Scotland  severial  of  our  people  were  consarned 
aboute  his  principals  boath  by  his  preaching  and  in  liis  private  converse. 

]Mr.  Breck,  in  the  face  of  all  this  hostility,  wrote  Clap  a  very  con- 
siderate letter  referring  to  his  habit  of  free  discussion,  acknowledging 
that  he  was  too  "  inconsiderate  and  incautious  in  speaking  "  and  ask- 
ing "Christian  forgiveness."  This  letter  Clap  used  to  increase  the 
prejudice  against  Breck,  since  he  showed  it  to  Breck's  enemies,  and 
prepared  more  documentary  evidence  against  his  character  as  a  min- 
ister. 

Thus  matters  stood  when  the  Hampshire  association  met  on  the 
8th  of  April,  1735,  referred  to  earlier  in  this  chapter.  The  first 
precinct  had  appointed  William  Pynchon,  Joseph  Williston,  and  Mr. 
AVorthington,  of  the  dissatisfied  party,  a  committee  to  wait  on  the 
association  and  to  get  what  information  they  could  about  the  Breck 
controversy,  and  P^-nchon  appeared  in  person  before  the  meeting. 
The  excitement  Avas  intense.  Mr.  Breck  himself  was  on  hand,  and 
as  both  the  association  and  Mr.  Breck  had  asked  ]Mr.  Clap  and  Mr. 


SPRINGFIELD,    16S6-18S6.  235 

Kirtlaiid  to  be  present,  there  was  every  prospect  that  all  the  parties 
to  the  controversy  would  meet  face  to  face.  But  Connecticut  sent 
documentary  evidence  only.  This  was  a  sore  disappointment,  and  it 
was  only  through  the  importuning  of  the  young  minister  himself  that 
the  association  made  any  investigation  at  all  at  that  time.  The  action 
of  Mr.  Clap  sending  up  papers  testifying  to  his  desire  not  to  harm 
Br(^ck,  and  at  the  same  time  refusing  to  accept  Breck's  explanations, 
confirmed  the  admiration  and  sympathy  which  the  majority  of  the 
parish  had  for  the  young  man.  Mr.  Breck  was  ready  with  his 
defence,  which  he  submitted  in  writing.  After  referring  to  the  charges 
sent  by  Mr.  Clap  to  Mr.  Hopkins  and  communicated  to  the  associa- 
tion, and  explaining  that  he  was  a  young  student  in  divinity  while 
at  Windham,  he  said  :  — 

I  tho't  it  not  an  unprofitable  way  of  spending  time  in  discoursing  upon  some 
of  the  controverted  points  in  divinity  .  .  .  The  first  thing  Avh  Mr.  Clap 
mentions  is  my  Denying  some  part  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  to  be  of  Divine 
authority.  To  whicii  I  answer  that  while  I  lived  at  Windham  I  Kead  Jones 
upon  the  Canon  of  tlie  Scripture,  who  seems  to  Disbelieve  the  Divine  authority 
of  those  texts  which  Mr.  Clap  mentions  .  .  .  But  this  I  can  truly  say,  that  it 
never  was  my  settled  opinion  that  those  texts  were  not  of  Divine  origine  .  .  . 
I  was  saying  to  Mr.  Clap  (conversation  as  to  divine  authority  of  the  texts  men- 
tioned by  Mr.  Breck)  that  I  tliought  that  there  was  just  cause  of  doubt  whether 
these  texts  were  given  by  Divine  Inspiration  or  not.  Mr.  Clap  replievl  that  the 
case  Avas  not  doubtfull.  for  (says  he)  God  is  obliged  in  his  Providence  to  keep 
the  Scripture  Pure  &  uncorrupt,  except  that  he  gives  us  sufficient  Proof  of  the 
Corruption  of  it.  To  which  I  Replied  that  that  argument  would  never  convince 
an  Infidel,  for  (says  I)  no  man  would  disbelieve  the  Divine  Authority  of  any  par- 
ticular Part  of  the  Scriptures  if  he  did  not  think  he  had  sufficient  evidence  that  it 
was  an  interpolation.  Upon  which  ]Mr.  Clap  made  some  stop,  as  if  he  did  not 
understand  me.  Whereupon  I  said  that  God  had  in  his  Providence  given  us 
sufficient  Reason  to  think  that  these  places  are  Interpolations  and  not  of  Divine 
Inspiration.  Xow,  gentlemen  you  may  see  that  these  words  were  used  in  order 
to  show  Mr.  Clap  tliat  the  argument  Avhich  he  made  use  of  was  insufficient  to 
prove  that  the  Divine  authority  of  these  texts  Avere  not  Doubtfull  .  .  .  The 
second  thing   Avhich  Mr.  Clap  objects    is  my  Denying  the  necessity  of  Christ's 


236  SFRINGFIELI),    1036-1886. 

satisfaction  to  Divine  Justice.  To  whicli  I  Reply  tliat  I  always  did  believe  that 
God  could  not  consistent  with  his  own  Glory,  have  forgiven  sin  without  satisfac- 
tion. When  I  said  that  I  believed  that  he  was  not  obliged  in  Justice  to  Require 
satisfaction  for  sin,  I  meant  nothing  more  than  that  God  would  not  have  done  any 
injustice  to  his  Creatures  if  he  had  forgiven  sin  without  any  satisfaction.  This 
I  told  Mr.  Clap  diverse  Times  when  we  were  disputing  upon  this  Head  .  .  . 
The  next  thing  Mr.  Clap  mentions  is  ray  Preaching  once  that  the  Heathen  that 
liv'd  up  to  the  Light  of  nature  should  be  saved,  and  that  Christ  should  either  be 
Immediately  Revealed  to  them,  or  they  should  be  saved  some  other  way.  The 
words  Avhich  ]\Ir.  Clap  refers  to  are  as  follows.  After  I  had  expressed  my  hopes 
that  the'  Heathen  would  not  all  of  them  be  damned.  I  said  I  Rather  chose  to 
think  that  if  any  of  the  Heathen  used  their  best  endeavours  to  get  Light  & 
Knowledge,  and  lived  up  to  the  Light  &  Knowledge  which  they  have,  that  God 
will  either  Immediately  Reveal  Christ  to  them  or  save  them  some  other  way. 
Now,  Gentlemen  I  never  had  a  thought  that  the  Healliens  doing  what  they  could 
would  Intitle  them  to  salvation.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  Imagine  any  such  thing. 
But  I  thought  it  more  likely  that  sich  an  one  would  be  saved  than  a  Heathen  who 
lived  a  vicious  Life,  &  therefore  I  mentioned  those  who  used  their  ])est  endeav- 
ours to  gett  Light  &  liv'd  up  to  the  Light  &  Knowledge  which  they  had.  And 
as  to  that  other  way  which  I  spoke  of,  wherein  the  Heathen  might  be  sav'd  than 
by  Immediate  Revelation  of  Christ  to  them,  I  did  not  mean  (as  Mr.  Clap  would 
have  it)  that  any  of  them  would  be  sav'd  without  Faitli  In  Christ,  but  the  way  I 
thought  of  Avas  that  of  God's  spiriting  some  Christians  to  go  amongst  them,  or 
else  moving  them  to  go  into  some  Christian  countries,  where  they  might  come  to 
the  Knowledge  of  Christ  in  another  way  than  by  Immediate  Revelation.  This 
Gentlemen  I  Imagine  is  the  most  easie  way  &  natural  construction  that  can 
possibly  \)e  put  upon  my  words.  And  tliis  I  told  Mr.  Clap  once  &  again  was  my 
meaning  in  the  time  of  it  ...  I  acknowledge,  indeed,  that  I  was  not  so  fully 
settled  &  established  in  this  Faith,  as  also  in  some  others,  when  I  j)reached  at 
Scotland,  but  this  I  can  truly  say  that  I  never  did  Believe  that  Faith  was  not 
necessary  to  salvation. 

The  rest  of  the  letter  is  taken  up  with  a  charge  of  stealing  books, 
and  his  expulsion  from  college  in  consequence.  He  denies  the  expul- 
sion, but  says:  "  I  said  (to  Mr.  Clap)  with  tears  in  my  eyes  that  I 
had  nothing  to  say  in  Justification  of  my  conduct,  that  I  went  to 
College  very  young,  and  fell  into  bad  company   &  that  my  Conversa- 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  237 

tioii  there  was  not  such  as  it  ought  to  have  been  and  that  I  hoped 
that  God  had  given  me  a  Light  and  sense  of  my  sins,  and  that  I  was 
Truly  humble  upon  the  account  of  them.  But  says  I,  there  never 
did  any  such  Crime  as  3'ou  have  mentioned  appear  against  me  at 
College." 

Mr.  Breck  read  this  defence  himself,  and  was  submitted  to  a  sharp 
cross-examination  by  various  members  of  the  association,  and  they 
were  unable  to  make  him  withdraw  the  charge  that  Clap  had  lied 
about  him.  While  he  was  willing  to  ask  forgiveness  for  over-heat  in 
polemical  discussions,  he  refused  to  34eld  an  inch  to  Mr.  Clap  and  his 
charge  of  alleged  heresy.  Mr.  Breck  then  turned  on  the  association, 
probably  with  the  impetuosity  of  3'outh,  and  demanded  that  the}'  ex- 
amine him  themselves,  and  find  whether  he  was  orthodox  or  not.  A 
majority  of  the  association  refused  so  to  do  until  Mr.  Clap's  charges 
had  been  disproved.  Those  who  voted  in  favor  of  an  examination 
were  Ivev.  Messrs.  Chaunce}^  Devotion,  and  Rand.  The  association 
informed  the  first  parish  that  they  were  not  able  to  obtain  "  full 
satisfaction"  as  to  Mr.  Breck's  case,  and  appointed  the  following  com- 
mittee of  investigation  :  William  Williams,  moderator  ;  Mr.  Cliaun- 
cey,  Mr.  Devotion,  Stephen  Williams,  Mr.  Reynolds,  Mr.  Bull,  and 
Jonathan  Edwards.  Mr.  Breck's  enemies  had  a  majority  of  the 
committee,  and  he  refused  to  appear  before  it.  A  church  and  pre- 
cinct meeting  was  called  for  the  24th  of  April,  and  in  spite  of  several 
[)rotestations  from  the  ministers,  they  gave  Mr.  Breck  a  call,  offer- 
ing him  £200  as  a  settlement,  and  promising  to  build  him  a  house 
within  four  years.  He  did  not  accept  until  the  latter  part  of  July. 
In  his  letter  he  refers  to  the  divisions  in  the  church,  and  to  the  neigh- 
boring ministers,  some  of  whom  were,  he  thought,  "industrious" 
against  hun.  "  Let  it  be  our  L^nited  Prayers  and  Endeavors,"  he 
adds,  ''that  both  you  and  1  may  be  under  the  Divine  Conduct  and 
Directicm,  that  ni}^  settlement  may  be  made  happy  amongst  you."  On 
this  very  day  the  church  made  arrangements  for  the  ordination,  the 
ministers  chosen  for  the  council  being  AVilliams,   of  Hatfield,   Mr. 


238 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6. 


Chauncey,  Mr.  Devotion,  and  Mr.  Raod.  John  Burt  was  directed  to 
go  to  Boston  for  other  ministers  to  assist  at  the  ordination.  On  tlie  4th 
day  of  August,  also,  ]Mr.  AVorthiugton,  Henry  Chapin,  Joseph  Ash- 
ley, and  Simon  Smith  signed  a  paper  protesting  against  the  act  of 
the  church  giving  Mr.  Breck  a  call,  "  contrary  to  the  advice  of  y*" 
Ministers  in  y""  County."  The  paper  was  read  at  this  meeting  of  the 
church,  but  the  ''  church  Refused  a  vote  to  Call  or  cancel  "  the 
engagement  with  Mr.  Breck.  Three  days  later  William  Williams, 
Stephen  Williams,  Samuel  Hopkins,  and  Jonathan  Edwards  wrote  a 
letter  to  Col.  John  Pynchon  and  the  dissatislied  members  of  the 
church,  in  which  they  said  that  they  Avere  of  the  opinion  that  the  first 
step  should  be  the  examination  of  the  charges  ngainst  Breck,  by  a 
committee  of  the  association,  which  latter  body,  the  writers  main- 
tained, was  "  y''  only  proper  Judge  of  the  Case."  ''But,"  they 
continued,  "  if  your  Neighbours  drive  on  an  ordination  speedil}', 
we  judge  it  to  be  your  duty  to  enter  your  dissent,  and  give  3'oui' 
reasons  for  so  doing,  and  support  them  by  all  y^  evidence  j^ou  can 
obtain  in  y*"  case." 


CHAPTER    XII. 

1735-1761. 

The  Breck  Controversy  continued. -Jouathau  Edwards's  Position.  —  The  Ordination 
Council  meets  at  Springtield. - Breck's  Confession  of  Faith. -His  Arrest  and  Ac- 
quittal.-An  Appeal  to  the  General  Court, -Breck  finally  settled  over  the  Fu'st 
Church. -Whitefield— Great  Eevivals.- Changes  in  Church  Rules.  — Increased 
Church-Membership.  -  Sprino-field  Mountains.  -  Chicopee.  -  The  Third  Meeting- 
House.  -  Schools.  -  Loss  of  Life  at  Louisburg.-The  Hobbs  Fight.  -  Crown 
*    Point.  — Agawam.  —Death  of  Col.  William  Pynchon  and  of  Dea.  Henry  Burt. 

August  14,  1735,  is  another  important  date  in  the  history  of  the 
Breck  controversy.  The  Hampshire  county  ministers,  who  were  com- 
pletely taken  aback  by  the  rebellious  course  of  the  Springfield  church, 
gathered  in  formal  meeting  at  Hatfield,  and  Stephen  Williams  wrote 
to  the  Springfield  dissatisfied,  advising  that  a  prudent  person  be  sent 
to  Rev.  Mr.  Clap  to  secure  all  the  evidence  possible.  The  subjoined 
letter  was  also  sent  to  the  enemies  of  Breck  at  Springfield  the  same 
day  :  — 

Gentlemen 

We  have  reed  yours  and  y^  enclose  Copy  of  your  declaration  to  Mr.  Breck 
which  we  look  upon  to  be  very  reasonable  &  Just  and  which  in  concern  for  y^ 
honour  of  God  &  y^  ministery  ought  to  be  done,  and  we  account  it  preposterous 
for  ye  Church  of  Springfield  to  call  him  or  for  him  to  accept  a  call  to  y^  ministry 
before  y^  matters  objected  against  him  had  been  duly  Inquired  into  &  he  had 
obtained  a  due  vindication,  and  to  proceed  as  the  church  &  Mr.  Breck  have  done 
&  we  hear  are  about  to  do,  seems  to  be,  after  vows  to  make  Inquiry,  and  we 
cannot  but  testify  against  it  as  an  Irregular  &  disorderly  proceeding  &  we  cannot 
in  Conscience  concur  in  such  an  ordination  and  must  say  that  Mr.  Breck's  con- 
duct in  this  affair  is  very  Surprising  to  us.  We  are  free  to  declare  before  God 
&  ye  World  that  according  to  our  best  Judgment  in  all  the  advice  we  have  given 


^40  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6. 


in  the  affair  we  have  acted  in  faitlifuhiess  to  Springfd  &  from  no  Prejudice 
against  Mr.  Breck  and  think  Ave  have  reason  to  resent  the  reflections  that 
have  been  cast  upon  us  as  persons  prepossed  &  prejudicd  &c.  but  Ave  are  AvilUng 
to  bind  it  as  a  CroAvn  to  us  knoAving  in  Avhose  cause  Ave  suffer  it.  We  can 
hardly  think  any  number  of  Ministers  Avill  be  found  to  serve  the  8cheem  of 
Springfd.  &  Mr.  Breck  and  impose  a  Pastor  upon  our  association  Avithout  our 
consent,  but  if  they  desire  some  other  Ministers  to  be  joyned  Avith  us  in  liearhig 
ye  Cause  &  Mr.  Chip  &  others  be  duly  notified  Some  Convenient  time  before  an 
ordination  be  concluded  on  it  is  Avhat  Ave  have  been  Avilhng  to  Concur  Avith. 

We    subscribe   your    loving  friends  Avishing  ye  Peace  of  your  Parish  &  y^ 
Prosperity  of  religion  among  you. 

Wm.  Willia.ms 
Sam^^  Hopkins 
Jonathan  Edavards 
N.  Bull 
Hatfield.  Aug'  U  1735. 

Still  a  third  letter  was  sent  from  Hatfield  before  they  adjourned. 
It  was  a  private  commimieatiou,  directed  to  "  Capt.  W"  Pynchoii 
Jim.  att  Springfeild."  They  express  willingness  to  act,  "  But,"  they 
say,  "  if  you  expect  /  y^  Ministers  of  y«  County  sho*^  do  anything 
for  you  we  apprehend  y'  it  is  proper  &  most  likely  to  be  serviceable, 
if  your  Company  shod  call  the  Association  together  to  Springfield  & 
send  for  Mr.  Kirtland,  Clap  &  such  others  as  they  shall  think  needfull 
to  bring  with  'em  to  be  present  at  y'^^  meeting  of  y^  Association,  some 
suitable  time  before  y*^  intended  ordination  comes  on,  &  if  you  shod 
by  letter  subscribed  by  your  Avhole  number  to  y^'  Moderator  of  y*^^ 
Association,  call  y*^  Association  together,  care  shall  be  taken  to  in- 
form Mr.  Breck  &  desire  his  appearance.  —  We  think  it  proper  y^ 
your  party  sho^  show  y"^  letter  we  send  'em  to  Mr.  Breck  &  his 
adherents  &  let  'em  know  your  design  of  calling  y«  Association  & 
if  they  please  to  Joyne  two  or  three  unexceptionable  Gentlemen  to 
y"  Association,  we  have  nothing  against  it.  Please  to  keep  this  let- 
ter wholly  to  yourself.     Your  hearty  friends." 

Encouraged  by  the  messages  from  Hatfield,  .Air.  Breck's  opponents 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6.  241 

made  another  appeal  to  Messrs.  Clap  and  Kirtland  to  come  to 
Springfield.  Mr.  Williams,  of  Hatfield,  meantime  declined  to  assist 
at  the  ordination  of  Mr.  Breck  in  a  letter  to  Deacon  Munn,  in  which 
he  said  :  — 

I  cannot  see  it  my  Avay  to  comply  with  your  desire  or  to  Communicate  it  to 
our  Chh,  not  being  satisfied  as  to  y^  regularity  of  your  proceedings  In  your  in- 
Aitation  of  Mr.  Breck  or  of  his  acceptance  of  a  call  from  you ;  it  being  contrary 
to  y^  advice  given  you  by  y^  association  of  ministers  at  Springfield  in  April  last, 
yt  there  should  be  first  a  regular  hearing  of  y^  matters  objected  against  Mr.  B.  pre- 
veous  to  it.  Avhich  I  then  tho't  y^  honour  of  Christ  and  of  y*^  ministry  and  y^ 
peace  of  your  Chh  required,  and  I  continue  still  to  think  so,  therefore  apprehend 
it  rather  a  duty  to  bare  a  testimony  against  it  than  to  approve  it. 

On  the  lOtli  of  September  the  dissatisfied  wrote  Mr.  Williams  that 
the}^  were  still  desirous  of  having  the  Hampshire  association  meet  at 
Springfield  a  week  before  the  proposed  ordination.  But  they  were 
persuaded  that  a  ''  council  of  Churches  to  hear  the  affair  by  Both 
Parties  "  could  not  be  obtained  ;  "  for,  at  the  meeting  of  the  Church 
when  they  application  to  Gentl''  to  assist  in  ordaining  Mr.  Breck 
twas  moved  by  the  Dissatisfied  Party  that  a  Council  might  be  had  on 
y^  affair  but  Deny''.  So  that  we  are  fully  Persuaded  no  other  meas- 
ures will  at  Present  be  Complyd  with  than  what  is  of  their  own  De- 
vising. As  to  the  Revd  Mr.  Clap's  &c  being  here  we  shall  take  care 
to  Desire  their  attendance  at  y^  association  if  convened."  A  week 
later  Mr.  AVilliams  replied  m  a  letter  to  Col.  John  Pynchon,  as 
follows  :  — 

Hon'^^;  Sr. 

Upon  the  Consideration  of  yrs  of  Sepf  10th  wherein  you  desird  a  meeting  of 
y<^  Association  at  Springfield  y^  week  after  next,  It  hath  seemed  to  me  to  be  im- 
practicable &  also  likely  to  be  unprofitable,  Ave  not  being  desired  by  the  Church 
&  Mr.  Breck.  It's  questionable  whether  they  Avill  referr  the  Case  to  those  that 
shall  convene  or  Avill  regard  our  Judgment.  I  had  tho't  it  Avould  be  best  for  the 
Association  to  meet  at  Deerfield  according  to  appointment,  only  a  week  sooner, 


242  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6. 

which  is  y^'  time  you  propose,  and  that  Mr.  Clap  &  others  &  as  many  of  yrselves 
as  you  think  fit  Mould  meet  the  Association  there.  But  having  rec'i.  last  niglit  a 
Letter  subscribed  by  some  Ministers  of  Boston,  viz  :  Messrs.  Cooper,  Welstead, 
Gee  &  Mather,  which  are  the  psons  your  Church  upon  Mr.  Brecks  motion  we 
hear,  have  sent  to,  wherein  they  thus  express  themselves  to  me  — 

SIR.  the  design  of  this  Letter  is  to  make  this  motion  &  Request,  that  y 
Association  meeting  which  was  to  be  at  Deerfeild  that  Day  (viz.  y^  Day 
set  for  y*"  ordination)  may  be  ordered  at  Springfeild  on  Thursday  y*^  2d 
of  Oct.  by  which  time  we  hope  by  the  Avill  of  God  to  be  up  there. 

I  suppose  the  church  are  appraised  of  this  purpose  of  theirs  and  if  upon  tliis 
motion  of  theirs  they  are  willing  to  referr  the  whole  affair  to  the  Judgem'  of  the 
Association  together  with  the  Rev*!  Eldrs  aforementioned,  —  I  shall  be  willing  to 
come  &  shall  do  what  I  can  to  obtain  the  presence  of  the  other  Associated  Pas- 
tors. But  if  they  refuse  this  and  would  allow  us  to  come  as  Spectators  only  or 
barely  to  give  Information  of  our  proceedings  in  y*-'  Case,  I  cant  think  it  best  to 
come  or  to  desire  myself  to  come.  I  desire  you  Avould  inform  y'selves  whether 
they  will  comply  with  the  above  written  and  let  me  hear  fro  you  as  soon  as  may 
be  convenient. 


The  Connecticut  association  of  ministers,  with  which  Mr.  Clap  was 
connected,  was  also  preparing  a  battery  to  discharge  at  the  doughty 
young  minister,  as  appears  from  this  letter  sent  by  Clap  to  William 
Pynchon  on  the  same  day  :  — 

Sk. 

I  received  a  Letter  Signed  by  you  and  Mr.  Cooley  Dated  Aug.  22d  1735  asking 
me  to  send  you  a  line  whether  I  have  Received  a  Letter  from  you  and  others  &c. 
(which  Letter  I  have  Received)  as  also  whether  the  Rev'i  Mr.  Kirtland  and  I 
would  be  willing  to  go  to  Springfeild  Avhen  we  were  Desired.  Mr.  Kirtland  was 
at  my  House  yesterday,  and  if  the  cause  and  Interest  Religion  may  be  served  by 
it,  we  are  free  to  take  the  Trouble  of  a  Journey  at  any  time  when  we  shall  be 
notified  and  to  bring  some  others  with  us  Avho  heard  Mr,  Breck  say  most  or  all 
of  the  same  things  whicli  lie  said  to  us  and  some  other  things  which  he  did  not 
say  to  either  of  us.  Our  association  have  appointed  a  Committee  to  take  the 
evidences  of  such  as  cannot  conveniently  go,  or  that  can  say  but  little,  etc. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1G36-1S86.  243 

We  have  chosen  to  give  this  narrative  as  mnch  as  possible  by  (luo- 
tation,  since  so  many  bitter  things  were  said  then  and  at  a  later  da}^ 
and  so  many  unpleasant  personalities  indulged  in,  that  it  is  no  easy 
task  to  generalize  the  facts  inoffensively.  The  bitter  feeling  engen- 
dered by  this  extraordinary  case  lasted  during  the  lives  of  many  of 
the  participants,  and,  indeed,  to  a  much  later  date.  Even  Dwight's 
^  Life  of  Jonathan  Edwards  "  gives  proof  of  the  surviving  prejudice, 
as  is  shown  by  his  use  of  a  dash  in  one  or  more  instances  when  speak- 
ing of  Mr.  Breck.  And  even  during  the  preparation  of  this  Histor}- 
a  college  professor  and  doctor  of  divinit}^  has  cautioned  the  writer 
against  going  too  deeph^  into  this  ancient  feud. 

The  Springfield  church  had  succeeded  in  pledging  four  ministers 
from  Boston  to  assist  at  the  ordination.  They  were  Messrs.  Cooper, 
Welstead,  Gee,  and  Mather  ;  and  William  Williams  at  once  wrote  a 
letter  to  Cooper  protesting  against  their  appearing  at  the  ordination. 
The  interference  of  the  Boston  brethren  was  more  exasperating  even 
than  the  obduracy  of  the  Springfield  church  itself.  The  eastern 
ministers  asked  Williams  to  call  the  Hampshire  association  together 
on  the  7tli  of  October,  when  the}^  themselves  would  arrive,  and  a  pre- 
liminary conference  could  be  held,  the  ordination  day  being  the  8th. 
Williams  declined  to  issue  the  call,  after  having  further  unsatisfactory 
correspondence  upon  the  matter. 

On  the  day  previous  to  the  ordination  a  letter  from  William  Will- 
iams, the  moderator  of  the  Hampshire  association,  was  presented  to 
Rev.  William  Cooper,  the  moderator  of  the  ordination  council,  pro- 
testing again  against  the  proceedings  of  the  council,  upon  the  ground 
that  but  those  of  good  repute  and  sound  doctrine  should  be  called  to 
the  ministry  ;  that  Mr.  Breck  had  charged  falsehood  upon  an  orthodox 
minister  ;  that  the  council  morally  share  Breck's  sins  by  supporting 
the  Springfield  church  ;  that  the  dissatisfied  party  had  reason  to  ask 
for  an  investigation  before  the  ordination  council  was  called  ;  that  Mr. 
Breck  should  not  have  been  allowed  to  select  the  members  of  the 
council ;  that  for  a  candidate  to  refer  to  the  neighborino;  ministers  as 


244  SPRINGFIELD,     1636-18S6. 

'•'  prejudiced  Persons  "  was  "  intolerable  Pride  and  Breach  of  Order," 
oiving-  *•  too  much  Grounds  for  fear  what  nia}^  be  expected  from  such 
an  one,"  and,  finally,  that  the  journe}^  of  the  Boston  ministers  tended 
"  to  make  a  Breach  among  our  Association  to  the  Prejudice  and 
Scandal  of  our  Churches."  Five  other  ministers  endorsed  this  letter. 
Mr.  Edwards  was  not  in  the  county  at  that  time,  but  he  subsecjuentl^^ 
approved  it,  and  desired  that  "  the  World  ma}^  count  him  one  concur- 
ring in  it."  After  this  document  was  read,  AVilliam  Pynchon,  Jr., 
appeared  at  tlie  head  of  a  committee,  and  was  permitted  to  read  a 
formidable  document  setting  forth  the  causes  of  discord  in  tlie  Spring- 
field church.  In  the  ten  counts  of  the  indictment  there  was  little 
new  to  the  reader,  unless  it  is  that  Mr.  Breck  was  charged  with  con- 
founding historical  and  living  faith,  and  doubting  the  doctrine  of  pre- 
destination. No  evidence  was  introduced  to  support  these  charges, 
and  no  argument  could  induce  them  to  produce  Avitnesses  at  a  public 
hearing. 

The  council  renewed  its  requests  for  proof  of  charges  on  the  fol- 
lowing day,  and  were  again  put  off.  The  town  was  in  a  feverish 
state  of  uncertainty,  and  it  was  thought  l^est  to  give  up  the  prepara- 
tions for  the  big  dinner  or  "  entertainment "  which  attended  ordinations 
in  those  days.  The  Boston  ministers  all  stopped  at  a  pulTlic  tavern,  and 
most  of  the  Hampshire  ministers  had  also  arrived,  but  had  neglected 
to  call  upon  their  eastern  brethren.  And  that  was  not  all.  Mr. 
Clap  had  come  up  the  river  with  Kirtland,  Huntington,  and  many 
witnesses,  as  well  as  a  bag  full  of  affidavits  and  documentary  evi- 
dence. There  was  still  another  group  of  men,  who  had  come  down 
from  Northampton,  —  Justice  John  Stoddard  and  two  associates. 
The  two  parties  in  the  parish  also  maintained  the  strict  lines  of  hos- 
tility. All  business  was  suspended,  and  the  whole  community  felt 
the  extraordinary^  tension. 

The  second  day  (8th)  of  the  council  opened  not  with  the  ordination, 
as  was  planned,  but  with  this  vote  :  — 


SPRTNGFrELD.    1636-1886.  245 

That  this  Council  expect  the  Dissatisfied  Brethren  not  only  to  produce  their 
Objections  against  the  ordination  of  Mr.  Breck,  but  also  the  Proofs  and  evi- 
dences to  support  them ;  and  that  if  the  Dissatisfied  Brethren  refuse  to  do  so,  we 
shall  think  it  our  Duty  to  enquire  into  the  principles  of  'Sir.  Breck,  and,  if  we 
find  him  to  be  orthodox,  shall  proceed  to  comply  with  the  Desire  of  the  Church 
in  this  Place. 

This  vote  did  not  mollify  the  dissatisfied  who  had  put  themselves 
in  the  hands  of  the  Hami)shire  association  ;  but  after  some  negotia- 
tions it  was  stipulated  that  the  evidence  of  the  dissatisfied  should  be 
given  with  closed  doors,  and,  accordingh',  Mr.  Clap  and  his  witnesses 
were  locked  into  a  chamber  in  AVidow  Brewer's  house  with  the  coun- 
cil and  the  accused.  It  is  believed  that  Mr.  Breck  was  usualh^  en- 
tertained b}^  Mrs.  Brewer  when  visiting  Springfield,  and  b}^  that 
means  he  became  acquainted  with  her  daughter  Eunice,  a  young 
woman  of  more  than  ordinary  gifts  of  mind. 

The  exact  history  of  that  secret  session  of  the  council  is  not  known, 
but  at  some  stage  of  the  proceedings  Mr.  Breck  was  called  upon  to 
submit  a  confession  of  faith.  He  promptly  responded  with  a  paper, 
from  which  are  taken  the  following  extracts  :  — 

^NIr.  Breck's  Confession  of  Faith. 

I  believe  that  there  is  a  God  whose  Eternal  Power  and  Godhead  are  to  be 
clearly  seen  from  the  thinn:s  Avhich  he  has  made,  but  I  believe  the  light  of  Nature 
IS  no  way  sufficient  to  lead  us  into  the  true  knowledge  of  what  God  is.  .  .  . 
I  therefore  acknowledge  the  necessity  of  a  Divine  Revelation  and  V)elieve  that 
is  to  be  found  in  the  Books  of  the  Old  and  Xew  Testam'^  and  in  no  other. 
I  believe  that  there  is  but  one  God  who  is  over  all  blessed  forever,  yet 
tliat  in  the  Unity  of  the  Godhead  there  are  three  persons,  the  Father,  the  Son  and 
the  Holy  Ghost,  who  are  the  same  in  Substance  and  Equal  in  Power  and  Glor}'. 
And  as  this  is  a  Doctrine  of  Pure  Revelation,  so  I  look  upon  it  to  be  of  the  Highest 
Importance  in  Religion  and  on  which  the  Greatest  Truths  of  the  Gospel  do  de- 
pend. I  believe  that  this  one  God  hath  from  all  Eternity  Decreed  and  foreor- 
dained in  the  Council  of  his  own  M'ill  whatsoever  come  to  pass  in  time,  yet  so  as 
not  to  take  away  the  will  of  his  Creatures  or  make  himself  be  y'^  author  of  Sin. 
.     .     .     I    also    believe    that  Adam    being    the    Covenant    as   well    as    Natural 


246  SPRINGFIELD.    2636-1886. 

head  of  all  Mankind  he  by  his  first  sin  of  his  Devised  both  Guilt  and  Corruption 
to  all  his  Posterity.  .  .  .  But  God  having  from  all  Eternity  a  Designe  to 
Glorifie  the  Kiclies  of  his  Grace  in  the  Recovery  and  Salvation  of  an  Elect  Num- 
ber of  the  fallene  Children  of  Adam  Hath  made  a  New  Covenant  wherein  y*^ 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  stands  as  their  Head  and  Surety.  ...  I  believe  the 
Meritorious  Union  of  y*"  Divine  and  Human  Nature  in  y^  Person  of  Christ.  I 
believe  that  in  order  to  Satisfie  Divine  Justice  for  ye  sins  of  y*^  elect  and  Recon- 
cile them  to  God  he  offer'd  up  himself  a  sacrifice  upon  y*^  Cross  as  he  was  Dd  for 
their  offences.  ...  I  believe  that  fallen  man  has  lost  all  power  of  Avhat  is 
sp'"tually  good  and  is  not  able  to  Convert  or  turn  himself  to  God,  and  therefore 
that  effectual  calling  is  y*"  special  and  Almighty  work  of  y^  Sp'  of  God  in  and 
unto  y*^  Hearts  of  Sin*"^  whereby  if  unwilling  they  are  made  Avilling  ni  \^  day  of 
his  Power  to  go  to  Christ  for  life.  T  believe  that  all  Avho  are  effectually  called 
are  justified  thro'  y^  Righteousness  of  y^  active  and  Passive  obedience  of  y*^ 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  Imputed  to  them  and  Rec'd  by  faith  of  Gods  own  operation. 
.  .  .  After  Death  I  believe  that  y*"  souls  of  y^  Righteous  are  made  Perfect 
in  Holiness  and  do  Pass  into  Glory  and  Happiness  but  y*"  Sp*^  of  y^  wicked 
into  Torm*  and  Misery.  I  believe  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  will  come  a  Second 
Time  to  Raise  y^  Dead  and  Judge  y  World.  Then  shall  y^  wicked  in  their 
Rais'd  bodyes  go  into  everlasting  Punishm'  but  y<^  Righteous  into  Life  Eternal. 

This  confession,  which  the  council  eventually  pronounced  ortho- 
dox, is  full  of  expressions  out  of  the  ordinary,  and  demonstrates 
Breck's  original  bent ;  while  giving  what  the  Scriptures  teach,  his  ar- 
ticles of  faith  were  strung  together  with  "  and  so  "  and  "  therefore," 
making  thus  his  continued  appeals  to  reason  and  the  fitness  of 
things.  His  reference  to  the  wicked  who  "  are  made  willing  in  y® 
day  of  his  Power  to  go  to  Christ  for  life  "  Avas  a  defence  and  a  com- 
mentary in  one  breath  as  to  his  charitable  hope  about  the  heathen. 

But  the  council  had  stirring  business  on  hand.  There  sat  the 
wigged  divine  from  Connecticut,  waiting  his  chance  to  attack  the 
young  theologian.  Mr.  Clap  first  submitted  his  documentary  evidence, 
which  the  scribe  read  to  the  council,  and  then  he  began  his  address. 
Whatever  it  was,  —  whether  sharp  as  Breck's  lashing  words  to  the 
AViudham  divine,  or  soft  and  insinuating,  —  no  one  at  this  late  day  can 
tell.     Mr.  Breck  was    soon  on  his  feet  with  protestations,  and  the 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1S86.  247 


moderator  was  compelled  to  protect  Mr.  Clap  against  interruptions. 
The  latter  had  spoken  for  a  long  time,  and  there  was  evidence  of 
connuotion  in  the  street  beloAV.  At  one  time  a  minister  attempted  to 
enter  the  chamber,  but  he  was  refused,  as  it  was  contrar}^  to  the 
stipulations  under  which  the  dissatisfied  were  submitting  their  evi- 
dence. At  another  time  a  messenger  rode  up  to  Mrs.  Brewer's  in  hot 
haste.  He  called  for  Mr.  Clap,  and  the  latter  suspended  his  speech 
long  enough  to  hold  a  private  conversation.  Then  the  messenger 
''rode  away  with  convenient  speed."  In  a  few  moments  Mr.  Clap's 
speech  was  once  more  interrupted  by  the  entrance  of  a  civil  officer, 
sword  at  his  belt,  bearing  a  warrant  for  Mr.  Breck's  arrest.  The 
cloud  had  burst.  The  mysterious  movements  of  strangers  and  judges 
and  ministers  and  yeomen  were  explained.  The  civil  law  had  been 
invoked  to  prevent  a  congregational  church  ordination,  and  his 
Majesty's  justices  were  asked  to  pass  on  the  theology  of  a  ministerial 
candidate.  Great  was  the  astonishment  of  the  council  when  they 
were  left  with  no  minister  to  ordain,  but  greater  the  consternation  of 
the  people  who  ran  through  the  streets  as  Breck  was  carried  a  prisoner 
to  the  town-house,  where  Justices  Stoddard,  Pomeroy,  and  D wight 
sat  in  waiting.  This  was  the  hour  of  Mr.  Clap's  triumph.  His  face 
is  said  to  have  been  radiant  with  satisfaction.  The  dissatisfied  were 
there  in  great  numbers,  as  well  as  the  indignant  members  of  the 
church  and  the  precinct  friends  of  Breck.  Indeed,  there  w^as  danger 
of  an  outbreak,  but  wiser  and  more  dignified  counsels  prevailed. 
The  petition  upon  which  the  warrant  was  issued  had  been  hastily 
drawn  up  and  signed  that  morning,  and  was  as  follows  :  — 

To  the  Hoii''''^  John  Stopdakd,  E.  Ekr  Pumkoy  and  Timothy  Dwight  Esqrs, 
his  Majesties  Justices  of  i/«   County  of  Ham.psh''. 

The  complaint  of  us  the  Subscribers  some  Avliereof  are  of  tlie  First  Church 
and  others  of  the  First  Precinct  in  Springfield  in  saide  County,  shoAvs  to  your 
Honours 

Tliat  are  now  in  this  Town  assembled  a  Number  of  Gentlemen  some  whereof 
are  known  and  other  some  are  unknown  to  us  to  name.       Some  of  the  Principle 


248  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


heads  of  those  we  know,  viz:  The  Eev'>  Ministers  the  Rev^'  Wm  Cooper,  Wm 
Welstead  and  Sam^  Mather  all  of  Boston  in  the  County  of  Sufeolk,  Clerks,  and 
Wm  Cooke  of  Sudbury  in  the  County  of  Suffolk,  Clerk,  Now  we  say  that  the 
said  Number  of  men  liave  set  up  and  do  assert  the  Power  of  an  Ecclesiastical 
Council  in  this  Town.  And  wliereas  Mr.  Rob*  Breck  has  had  a  Call  to  the  Pas- 
toral office  of  the  Church  here,  tho  as  we  apprehend  not  according  to  Law,  and 
we  have  Exhibited  agt  the  said  Breck  Sundry  articles  of  Charge  for  that  in  Gen- 
eral he  has  broched  and  vented  many  articles  of  Faith  wholly  subversive  of  the 
most  Holy  Eaith  of  our  Christian  Religion,  as  well  as  been  guilty  of  moral 
Immoralities,  Now  tlie  said  number  of  men  having  asserted  the  Power  aforesaid 
do  also  assert  their  Power  to  hear  Judge  and  act  upon  the  said  articles,  although 
we  say  they  have  no  Juridicial  Power  therein  for  these  Reasons  namely  for  that 
this  Church  never  at  all  applied  to  those  churches  from  whom  they  Respectively 
Pretend  to  be  Delegated,  Neither  secondly  can  their  be  any  Pretence  that  those 
Churches  were  applied  to  send  in  their  advice  and  Council  in  those  articles,  but 
in  fact  so  it  is  that  the  sd  Mr.  Breck  has  apply \1  Personally  to  them  at  his  own 
election  Avhile  this  Church  did  not  know  that  those  Churches  were  apply'd  to.  So 
that  in  fact  they  are  here  as  they  say  Avith  a  Proper  Juridical  Power  in  the  Prem- 
ises and  do  pretend  to  assert  maintain  and  exercise  the  same.  Now  we  say  as 
much  as  they  Avere  applied  to  in  no  other  manner  but  as  above  being  Chosen 
Judges  by  Mr.  Breck  himself  Avhile  Ave  are  Deny'd  the  Liberty  of  Choosing 
others  to  Joyn  them  therein,  is  an  Invasion  of  our  Natural  Rights  as  men.  and  it 
is  a  Method  of  Judging  Avhicli  neither  the  Platform  of  these  Churches  nor  the 
LaAv  of  this  Province  or  Nation  do  in  the  Least  Countenance  and  therefore  their 
Pretences  thereto  and  Exercise  of  the  same  is  against  the  LaAv  and  Peace  of  our 
Sovereigne  Lord  the  King  his  croAvu  and  Dignity.  Your  Complainants  therefore 
Pray  for  Justice. 

Springfld  Oct  8th  1735. 

johx  ayorthingtox' 
Ebr  Warriner 
R.  Harris 

O.    COOLEY 

B.  Wait 

D.  Cadavell 
John  Chapix 
H.  Chapin 

S.  Bliss 

E.  Warner 
Jed  Bliss 
L.  Bliss. 


SFE I XG  FIELD,    1  OS  6-1 SS6. 


249 


It  is  a  curious  fact  that  with  the  exception  of  John  Worthington 
and  H.  Cliapin  not  one  of  the  above  men  was  in  full  connnunion  with 
the  Springfield  church. 

A  number  of  the  ordination  council  appeared  to  defend   the    pris- 


The  Reading  of  Mr.  Breck's  Confession  of  Faith. 


oner  before  the  judges,  and  Mr.  Clap  was  at  once  put  on  the  witness 
stand.  He  was  followed  by  Kirtland  and  others.  That  night  Breck 
slept  in  the  custody  of  the  law.  The  next  morning  (October  9)  the 
ordination  council  assembled  again  in  Mistress  Brewer's  house  and 
attempted  to  continue  its  investigation,  the  whole  town  being  at  fever 
heat  and  many  people  being  present  from  the  surrounding  country. 
Clap  and  Kirtland  refused  to  obey  the  summons  of  the  council,  the 


250  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


latter  gentleman  saying  that  bis  evidence  could  be  obtained  from  the 
justices  at  the  town-house. 

A  curious  episode  took  place  before  Mistress  Brewer's  house  that 
morning.  A  copy  of  Breck's  coufession  had  been  secured,  and  a 
young  man  mounted  a  white  horse  and  proceeded  to  read  it  to  a  large 
crowd,  consisting  of  both  friends  and  foes  of  the  young  minister. 
The  crowd  both  applauded  and  showed  signs  of  disapproval.  One 
of  the  dissatisfied  who  witnessed  the  demonstration  said  afterward : 
"The  old  horse  stood  astonished  at  what  was  doing,  and  if  he  had 
had  the  tongue  of  Balaam's  ass  he  would  have  reproved  the  madness 
of  the  prophet." 

It  may  be  here  remarked  that  Stephen  Williams,  of  Longmeadow, 
and  Messrs.  Hopkins,  Reynolds,  Bull,  and  Ashley,  with  "  a  person 
of  distinction  from  Connecticut,"  had  come  to  Springfield  from 
Northampton  with  the  justices  a  few  days  before,  and  that  the  first 
plan  had  been  to  arrest  the  council  itself,  but  two  of  the  justices  re- 
fused to  sign  such  a  warrant.  It  is  also  known  that  on  Monday,  the 
6th,  Captain  Pynchon,  Jr.,  went  to  Northampton  with  the  complaint, 
and  the  plan  to  arrest  Breck  seems  to  have  been  decided  upon 
suddenly  after  the  plan  to  arrest  the  council  failed. 

The  closing  scenes  of  this  drama  are  soon  told.  Mr.  Breck  was 
ordered  by  the  justices  to  be  taken  to  Connecticut,  where  he  had 
preached  his  heretical  sermons,  a  friend  being  detailed  to  accompany 
him  as  a  mark  of  distinction,  and  many  of  the  sorrowing  and  indig- 
nant congregation  following  their  3^oung  hero  until  well  out  of  town. 
That  was  a  dark  and  an  exciting  night  for  Springfield.  Some 
rejoiced,  some  feared  evil  results,  and  some  were  bowed  in  anguish. 
The  next  day  a  public  meeting  of  humiliation  and  pra3^er  was  held. 
The  suspense  was  not  long.  The  Connecticut  judges  had  no  notion 
of  putting  chains  upon  a  Massachusetts  congregational  council. 
Breck  was  discharged,  and  he  returned  at  once.  It  was  the  ordination 
party  that  now  triumphed. 

Tlie  action  of   these  Hampshire   justices  was   brought  up  in  the 


SrRIXGFIELD,    1636-1SS6.  251 

House  of  Representatives  on  the  'Jth  of  December  following,  and, 
after  a  long  debate,  the  principal  parties  to  the  dispute  were  summoned 
to  Boston  on  the  24th  of  the  same  mouth,  in  order  that  "  this  House 
may  better  Judge  what  may  be  proper  for  them  to  do  in  so  Extraor- 
dinary affair,  and  for  protecting  and  Defending  the  Churches  in  the 
free  and  peaceable  exercise  of  those  Libertys  and  priviledges  which 
are  secured  to  them  by  Law." 

On  the  26th  of  December  the  House  declared  the  council  regular, 
and  resolved  that  "  Altho  the  Justices  had  Right  by  Law  to  Enquire 
into  the  Extraordinary  Facts  charged  upon  3Ir.  Breck,  yet  they  ought 
not  by  any  means  to  have  Literrupted  that  Church  and  Eclesiastical 
Council  while  they  were  in  the  Exercise  of  their  just  Rights  Enquiring 
into  the  Same."  This  is  a  very  important  decision,  and  is  a  stake  in 
the  great  boundary  line  between  the  civil  and  religious  jurisdiction 
which  was  subsequently  more  fully  delineated. 

We  soon  find  the  Springfield  church  setting  January  27,  1736, 
as  the  day  of  Mr.  Breck' s  ordination.  Dr.  Cooper  came  on  from 
Boston  and  preached  the  ordination  sermon.  We  cannot  omit  the 
fact  that  a  few  days  later  Islw  Breck  was  joined  in  marriage  to 
Eunice  Brewer,  Rev.  Stephen  AYilliams  graciously  performing  the 
ceremony.  Their  engagement  probably  took  place  during  the  dark 
days  when  the  Hampshire  association  was  trying  to  drive  Breck  out 
of  the  valley. 

At  the  February  meeting  of  the  precinct  twenty-three  men  re- 
corded their  protest  against  the  support  of  Breck,  upon  the  ground 
that  he  was  not  an  orthodox  minister.  They  were  Wilham  Pynehon, 
Jr.,  Robert  Harris,  John  AVorthington,  Ebenezer  Warrmer,  Benjamin 
Wait,  Ebenezer  Warner,  Daniel  Cadwell,  Jedediah  Bliss,  Samuel 
Bliss,  Henry  Chapin,  Simon  Smith,  Increase  Sikes,  Jr.,  Abner  Ely, 
Obadiah  Cooley,  Abel  Bliss,  Timothy  Bliss,  Pelatiah  Bliss,  John 
Chapin,  Luke  Bliss,  Joseph  Ashley,  Thomas  Horton,  Da\Hd  Chapin, 
and  John  Chapin,  Jr. 

The  dissatisfied  were  soon  at  it  again,  and  subpoenas  were  sent 


252  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

to  all  the  Counecticut  witnesses  to  appear  at  the  May  term  in  Spring- 
field. But  INIr.  Clap  and  Kirtland  had  no  taste  for  further  fight,  and 
in  a  joint  letter  to  William  Pynchou,  Jr.,  in  April,  they  quer}^  whether 
a  second  Springfield  journe}^  would  "  not  look  with  the  aspect  of  an 
unwearied  pursuit  of  a  personal  controversie."  This  hint  was  taken, 
and  we  find  the  dissatisfied  on  the  18th  of  November,  1736,  taking  a 
receipt  from  the  precinct  committee  for  £6  18s.,  costs  of  court  ordered 
at  the  August  session. 

The  young  minister  and  a  congregational  principle  had  received 
recognition,  and  Rev.  Robert  Breck  began  a  ministry  which  extended 
through  half  a  century. 

It  is  an  irony  of  events  worth  mention,  that  fourteen  years  later 
Jonathan  P^dwards  found  himself  compelled  to  make  a  plea  against  a 
council  of  local  ministers  to  investigate  the  issues  between  himself 
and  his  Northampton  church.  He  was  reminded  that  in  the  Breck  con- 
troversy^ he  had  taken  just  the  other  view,  objecting  to  the  presence 
of  foreign  ministers  ;  and  his  reply  was  that  ordination  councils  and 
advisory  councils  were  two  different  things.  Mr.  Edwards  argued 
that  churches  were  not  obliged  in  every  case  to  "  submit  to  the 
neighboring  ministers  and  them  only."  At  the  famous  council  of 
February,  1750,  at  Northampton,  Mr.  Edwards  returned  to  the  sub- 
ject by  saying,  among  other  things,  "  Mr.  Stoddard  &  Mr.  AVilliams 
of  Hatfield,  formally  went,  wdieu  invited  to  a  council  at  Norwich  in 
Connecticut  and,  if  I  mistake  not,  to  another  Council  at  Lebanon  ; 
which  surely  they  w^ould  not  have  done  if  they  had  thought  the  law 
of  God  and  nature  settled  such  an  establishment  in  vicinities."  And 
we  may  add,  to  complete  the  record  of  this  struggle  in  church  polit}', 
that  Mr.  P^dwards  carried  his  point  by  securing  invitations  for  min- 
isters from  the  east  to  join  the  council.  It  sounds  quite  like  fiction, 
moreover,  when  we  record  the  fact  that  Mr.  Breck  sat  in  this  council, 
and  gave  the  casting  vote  which  dismissed  EdAvards  from  his  North- 
ampton church. 

Mr.    Breck  began   his   ministr}^   under    depressing   circumstances. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-ISS6.  253 

Young  as  he  was,  however,  he  developed  the  very  genms  of  diplomacy. 
In  any  new  project  of  the  advancement  of  the  church  he  was  quite 
inclined  first  to  consult  those  most  hostile  to  him.  It  is  a  great  pity 
that  the  records  are  so  silent  upon  the  career  of  this  remarkable  man. 
He  evidently  had  a  broad,  stalwart  common  sense  which  kept  him 
from   extremes. 

Hardly  was  he  under  way  in  his  new  work  when  Whitefield 
appeared  in  this  valley.  While  no  bigot,  Mr.  Breck  proved  him- 
self a  firm  champion  of  his  creed.  He  had  evidently  little  de- 
sire to  see  his  people  crying  out  in  hysterical  felicitations  over  an 
anticipated  eternity  of  bliss.  It  was  remarked  along  the  valley  that 
Mr.  Breck  rather  snubbed  young  Mr.  Whitefield,  for  the  latter  was 
yet  under  thirty.  Mr.  Whitefield's  journeyings  greatly  stimulated 
the  wonderful  revivals  in  religion  which  were  breaking  over  the 
valley.  That  Mr.  Breck  distrusted  the  effect  of  special  religious  re- 
vivals may  be  safely  accepted  as  a  fact.  In  later  years  one  of  his 
congregation  openly  said  that  Mr.  Breck  opposed  the  ''  late  stir"  in 
religion. 

It  is  of  passing  interest  to  note  that  our  contentious  friend  Rev. 
Thomas  Clap  rode  with  Jonathan  Edwards  to  Boston  in  1743,  and 
that  afterward  Mr.  Clap  circulated  the  curious  report  that  Edwards 
understood  AVhitefield  to  say  that  he  had  a  design  of  ''  tm-ning  out  of 
their  places  the  greater  })art  of  the  clergy  of  New  England,  and  of 
supplying  their  pulpits  with  ministers  from  England,  Scotland  and 
Ireland."  Mr.  Edwards  publicly  denied  making  such  a  charge,  but 
jMr.  Clap  reiterated  it ;  and  there  the  matter  rests. 

The  discourtesy  charged  upon  Mr.  Breck  toward  the  English 
Methodist  is  undoubtedly  overdrawn.  There  is  no  sufficient  reason  to 
doul)t  the  statement  made  in  the  accounts  of  Whitefield's  first  Ameri- 
can journey,  that  he  preached  in  Springfield  in  1740  on  his  way  with 
Jonathan  Edwards  from  Northampton  to  East  AVindsor.  If  Mr. 
Breck  had  refused  the  use  of  the  meeting-house,  and  Whitefield  had 
really  preached,  say,  at  West  Springfield,  it  seems  that  the  circum- 


254  SPRIXGFIELD,     1636-1SS6. 

stance  would  have  lieeii  noted  in  the  diaiy  of  the  journey.  Just  as 
AVhitefield  was  leaving  the  village,  on  horseback,  the  animal  stumbled 
on  a  defective  bridge,  and  threw  the  brilliant  revivalist  over  the 
animal's  head.  AVhitefield  said  afterwards,  '^  ^ly  mouth  was  full  of 
dust.  I  ])lew  a  little,  but  falling  upon  soft  sand  got  not  much  damage. 
After  I  had  recovered  myself  and  mounted  my  horse,  God  so  filled 
me  with  a  sense  of  his  sovereign,  distinguishuig  love  and  my  own 
un worthiness  that  my  eyes  gushed  out  with  tears."  His  neglect  to  re- 
flect upon  the  Springfield  surveyors  of  highways  did  his  forbearing 
spirit  great  credit. 

AYe  think  that  Mr.  Breck's  objection  to  Mr.  Whitefield  was  of  a 
later  growth.  Some  years  afterwards  AVhitefield  returned  to  America, 
distinguished,  portl3%  and  richly  dressed.  The  picture  evidently  did 
not  please  Mr.  Kreck.  In  a  Connecticut  minister's  diary  of  17G4 
is  this:  ''Mr.  Whitefield  came  along;  People  seemed  very  fond 
of  gazing  on  him.  He  rode  in  his  chariot  with  a  gentleman  —  had  a 
waiter  to  attend  on  him,  and  Sampson  Occum,  y*"  Indian  preacher, 
who  rode  on  one  of  the  horses,  there  being  three  to  y^  chariot. 
Messrs.  Breck  and  Whitne}^  came  and  dined  here.  Mr.  Breck  said 
he  did  not  know  but  I  was  right  in  asking  Mr.  Whitefield  to  preach ; 
however,  he  believed  he  would  not  have  done  it."  Ellen  D.  Larned, 
who  wrote  the  Histor}^  of  Windham  County,  remarks  after  the  above 
quotation,  "  If  Mr.  Breck  of  Springfield,  always  inclined  to  arminian- 
ism  and  heterodoxy,  could  thus  scruple,  it  may  be  seen  that  the  cau- 
tious pastor  (Kev.  James  Cogswell)  did  indeed  run  some  risk  in 
extending  civilities  to  the  great  pulpit  orator." 

It  was  about  the  time  of  the  second  visit  of  Whitefield  that  Joseph 
Ashley,  a  member  of  the  Springfield  church,  charged  Mr.  Breck  with 
a  refusal  to  admit  into  his  pulpit  Whitefield,  Wheelock,  and  Dewey. 
The  church  promptly  voted  that  Ashley  had  "  manifested  a  censo- 
rious and  uncharitable  Spt  towards  this  Chh  and  the  Pastor  of  it." 
This,  however,  does  not  })rove  that  Whitefield  was  actually  excluded 
at  the  time  of  his  first  visit. 


SPRIXGFIELD.     1636-1 SS  6.  255 

These  were  trying  times  for  the  First  Church.  Mr.  Breck  went 
into  the  pulpit  just  at  the  turning  of  the  tide  in  New  England.  The 
waters  were  broken  by  cross-currents,  and  noise  and  confusion  were 
everywhere.  Men's  speech  was  changing.  Old  English  words  and 
phrases  with  New  England  meanings  were  in  common  use,  while 
other  words  and  phrases  were  falling  into  disuse  ;  conversation  was 
more  deliberate  and  cold.  The  ver}^  costuming  of  the  people  was 
peculiar.  The  Puritan  garb  was  originally  of  thorough  Quaker  caste, 
the  difference  being  that  the  Puritans  regulated  it  b}'  law,  and  the 
Friends  made  it  a  matter  of  duty.  The  result  was  tliat  the  broad- 
brim and  the  Puritan  cap  were  gradually  put  away,  and  the  three- 
cornered  hat  and  lace  and  ruffles  were  growing  in  favor.  William 
Pynchon  died  with  a  Puritan  skull-cap  hanging  by  his  bedside,  but 
his  son  John  left  a  wig,  and  garments  covered  with  gold  lace.  John 
Pynchon's  sons  wore  cocked  hats. 

The  first  and  second  generations  of  ministers  were  warm  in  their 
devotion  to  the  principles  of  the  Puritan.  Whitefield  found  the  third 
generation  quite  cold  and  undemonstrative.  He  even  spoke  of  many 
of  the  New  England  divines  as  unconverted.  He  noticed  in  the  Bos- 
ton congregations  that  "jewels,  patches,  and  gay  apparel"  were 
commonl}^  worn  by  the  women,  while  little  boys  and  girls  were 
"  dressed  up  in  the  pride  of  life  ;  and  the  little  infants  that  were 
brought  to  baptism  were  wrapped  in  such  fine  things,  and  so  much 
pains  taken  to  dress  them,  that  one  would  think  that  they  were 
brought  thither  to  be  initiated  into,  rather  than  renounce  the  pomps 
and  vanities  of  this  wicked  world." 

There  is  enough  in  our  records  to  show  that  in  Springfield  the  same 
elements  were  at  work.  Arminianism  and  Calvinism  were  at  logger- 
heads ;  poverty  and  riches  were  on  indifferent  terms,  and  even  vice 
and  error  were  abroad  in  the  fields.  The  First  Church  practised  the 
half-way  covenant,  so  that  men  might  be  admitted  to  baptism  on  the 
virtues  of  their  grandfathers.  Mr.  Breck  had  been  ordained  but  a  few 
weeks,  when  a  peculiar  case  came  before  the   society.     Daniel  Par- 


256  SrRIXGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


sons,  Jr.,  and  wife,  desired  to  "  own  y^  Cov*  in  order  to  have  their 
child  baptised.  It  was  objected  by  some  y'  they  had  a  child  born 
wHn  about  seven  months  after  marriage  w'^  being  consider' d  by  y^ 
chh,  and  after  some  time  of  consideration,  It  was  on  the  22nd  of 
August  put  to  vote  whether  y"'  sd  Daniel  Parsons  &  wife  should  be 
admitted  to  the  Privilidges  y*  y-^'  saught  for  &  pass'd  in  y^  neg." 
Daniel  Parsons  seems  to  have  been  a  man  of  some  local  note.  At 
any  rate,  in  1738,  the  town  granted  him  liberty  to  build  a  grist-mill 
and  a  dam  across  the  Chicopee  river.  But  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Parsons  weie 
not  content  to  rest  Avith  the  refusal  of  baptism  to  their  child  ;  and  on 
the  18th  of  November,  after  much  debate,  the  church,  underpressure, 
laid  down  the  ride  :  ''  That  every  p'son  having  a  child  seven  months 
after  marriage  w^''out  any  other  proof  or  Demonstration  of  y'^  guilt, 
shall  be  call'd  upon  and  treated  as  Innocent  p''sons."  This  was 
simply  a  recognition  of  the  old  custom  of  ''  troth-plight"  or  "  hand- 
fast,"  which  was  practised  in  England  to  the  Puritan  era.  In  the 
"  Christian  State  of  Matrimony,"  published  in  1543,  is  this  passage  : 
"  Every  man  lykewyse  must  esteme  the  parson  to  whom  he  is  hand- 
fasted,  none  otherwyse  than  for  his  owne  spouse,  though  as  yet  it  be 
not  done  in  the  church  ner  in  the  streate.  After  the  hand-fastynge 
and  makyng  of  the  contracte,  the  churchgoyng  and  weddyng  should 
not  be  deff erred  too  longe,  lest  the  wyckedde  sowe  hys  ungracious 
sede  in  the  meane  season." 

The  First  Parish,  in  the  early  part  of  :\Ir.  Breck's  ministry,  put  a 
liberal  construction  upon  the  rule  requiring  a  declaration  of  convic- 
tion of  sin  on  the  part  of  candidates  for  church-membership.  It  was 
formally  voted  that  it  "  did  not  look  upon  y'^  Making  a  Relation  to 
be  a  necessary  term  of  Comunion." 

It  appears  that  AVidow  Abigail  Parsons,  who  wanted  to  join  the 
church  in  full  communion,  was  troubled  in  her  mind  about  the  usual 
way  of  making  a  "  relation  "  of  her  religious  experiences,  and  had 
desired  to  be  excused  from  it.  The  Springfield  church  had  certainly 
gone  as  far  as  the  most  liberal  Congregationalist  could  have  desired. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  257 


It  had  admitted  to  the  half-way  covenant  persons  who  entered  into 
the  Abrahamic  covenant  by  virtue  of  the  "  relation  "  of  tlieir  grand- 
fatliers,  and  it  had  now  admitted  persons  without  any  public  "rela- 
tion." We  cannot  see  from  any  evidence  extant  that  the  visit  of 
Whitefield,  the  wonderful  revivals  of  reli<i;ion  at  Northampton,  Hat- 
field, Longnieadow,  and  so  on  down  the  valley,  with  its  protracted 
meetings,  its  crying  out  of  convicted  souls,  its  falling  in  fits  upon  the 
floor,  etc.,  had  any  effect  upon  the  Springfield  church.  There  is  no 
evidence  of  a  Springfield  revival  at  this  time.  Tlie  most  remarkable 
revival  of  the  country,  and  one  whose  fame  had  i)enetrated  England 
and  Scotland, — the  Northampton  revival  of  1735,  —  made  no  impres- 
sion whatever  upon  Springfield.  AVe  do  not  see  that  Mr.  Breck  ever 
drew  up  a  new  covenant  of  reformation,  as  Stephen  Williams,  of 
Longnieadow,  Jonathan  Edwards,  and  others  did.  But  we  know  that 
the  church  prospered  and  morals  improved.  When  Breck  took  the 
church,  there  were  less  than  seventy  members  in  the  church.  During 
Breck's  first  year  —  and  it  should  be  remembered  that  half  of  this 
time  the  dissatisfied  were  still  fighting  him  in  court  and  precinct 
meetings  —  there  were  no  less  than  twenty-five  admissions  to  full 
communion,  while  twenty-five  more  "  owned  the  covenant."  This 
was  a  notable  ingathering.  These  admissions,  be  it  remembered, 
were  recorded  before  the  rule  adopted  by  the  church  al)olisliing  a  re- 
lation of  experiences.  When  we  consider  the  iiistor}^  and  principles 
of  the  Congregational  church,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  throwing 
open  the  door  of  the  comnuuiion  to  all  honest  persons,  upon  the  be- 
lief that  it  was  a  converting  ordinance,  and  the  waiving  of  the  relation 
of  experiences,  were  perilous  steps  for  the  Springfield  church  to  take. 
In  dealing  with  Springfield,  we  are,  in  a  large  sense,  writing  the 
histor}^  of  a  hundred  plantations.  Townships  were  growing  out  of 
the  gardens  planted  by  the  churches,  and  in  these  townships  was  the 
spirit  of  democracy.  The  American  Declaration  of  Independence  was 
really  written  early  in  the  eighteenth  century,  when  out  of  a  dismal 
religious  reaction,  and  a  healthy  counter  revival,  and  a  hundred  con- 


258  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-J886. 

I  ~~ 

fusing  things,  j^olitical  and  social,  came  a  connnon  faith  in  self-gov- 
ernment. One  can  find  oromid  liigli  enough  in  Springfield  during 
the  first  cxuarter  of  tlie  eighteenth  century  to  look  straight  into  the 
revolutionary  war. 

But  it  would  be  uncandid  to  neglect  to  say  that  many  in  Spring- 
kV  field  in  Breck's  time  deplored  the  liberality  he  encouraged.  It  prob- 
ably soon  drove  some  from  the  parish.  And  we  have  at  least  one, 
Joseph  Ashley,  who  a])sented  himself  })ermanently  from  divine  ser- 
vice. When  the  church  demanded  his  reasons,  he  replied  that  he 
'"  look'd  upon  the  Chh  as  no  chli  of  Christ,  and  the  g^'ter  Part  of  the 
memV)ers  of  it  to  be  carnal  —  Being  ask'd  the  reasons  of  his  enter- 
taining such  concerning  the  chh.  He  said  that  most  of  the  Discourse 
of  most  of  the  members  was  upon  worldly  matters,  and  that  he  ap- 
prehended such  Discourse  was  mostl}^  delightfull  to  them.  And 
further  he  oljjected  against  the  manner  of  admission  of  members 
practic'd  in  this  Chh,  because  they  did  not  require  a  pticular  ace' 
of  their  Experiences,  but  accepted  of  a  Profession  of  dedicating 
themselves  to  God,  and  a  Life  and  Conversation  corresponding 
thereto."  The  church  lost  no  time  in  voting  that  Ashley  had  left  its 
conununion  for  reasons  which  had  not  been  substantiated. 

The  increase  of  church-membership  that  attended  Mr.  Breck's 
ministry  was  remarkable  beyond  the  fact  that  the  church  seems  to 
have  avoided  special  religious  excitement.  The  congregation  gath- 
ering on  Springfield  Mountains  drew  heavily  from  the  First  Parish, 
more  being  dismissed  to  Springfield  Mountains  than  any  place  else 
for  some  years. 

When  we  say  that  not  a  third  of  the  Springfield  inhabitants  were 
full  communicants,  we  do  not  say  that  tlie  churches  were  empty  on 
the  Sabbath.  Everybody  went  to  church,  as  a  rule,  and  the  meetings 
on  lecture  days  were  largely  attended,  and  at  night,  when  the  nine- 
o'clock  bell  sounded,  the  village-folk  prepared  for  bed.  Tlie  routine 
of  their  daily  life  was  indeed  correct,  but  the  spirit  of  the  pioneers 
had  gone,  and  the  new  life  dawning  upon  the  people  was  destined  to 


SPRINGFIELD,    16S6~1SS6.  259 


be  as  pure,  and  at  the  same  time  uuburdenecl  by  coercive  political 
machinery. 

Chicopee  had  nearly  forty  voters  in  1749,  and  entered  a  petition 
for  a  separate  minister  in  January.  The  petition  was  dismissed. 
In  the  autumn  the  Chicopee  people  again  agitated  the  question,  and 
the  First  Parish  committee  appointed  for  that  purpose  replied  : 

Its  very  Evident  by  their  (Chicopee's)  Shewing  tliat  their  Accommodations 
which  they  have  obtained  by  being  so  farr  off  from  the  Center  of  the  Parish  is 
more  than  a  Compensation  for  their  Fateagues  on  the  Sabbath,  for  it  is  a  very 
plain  case  that  if  the  rideing  on  Horse  Back  on  a  Plain  six  miles  in  half  a  Day  is 
more  than  Equall  to  half  a  Day's  labour,  the  Petitioners  upon  the  whole  Live  with 
much  more  Ease  &  Less  Fateague  than  those  who  live  in  the  Center  of  the 
Parish;  Avho  besides  the  Fateague  they  have  in  managing  their  business  at  a  Dis- 
tance all  tlie  week,  are  obliged  to  build  &  maintain  Three  Large  vessels  to 
Transport  the  Produce  of  their  Lands  to  y«  stores. 

But  Chicopee  persisted,  and  a  church  was  organized  at  the  north 
end. 

The  First  Parish  began  their  third  meeting-house  in  1749,  and  com- 
pleted It  three  years  later.  It  was  sixty  feet  by  forty-six  in  size,  and 
stood  until  tlie  present  edifice  was  erected. 

We  are  inclined  to  think  that  the  democratic  l)ias  of  Mr.  Breck's 
mind  prepared  the  Springfield  community  for  many  of  the  changes 
attending  the  new  era.  It  was  noted  during  the  second  year  of  his 
ministry  that  "  the  age  of  Persons  and  theire  Estates  as  they  stand 
upon  the  list  (Negroes  Excepted)  are  the  Principal  Rule  that  said 
Comete  (seating  committee)  are  to  be  governed  by  theire  proseedings 
and  any  other  Dignity  that  any  Parsons  may  be  clothed  or  attended 
withall  shall  be  Left  Discressionary  with  sd  Committee."  The  men 
were  still  seated  upon  one  side  of  the  house,  and  the  women  on  the 
other.  But  the  new  bidlding  inaugurated  a  commendable  change  ; 
a  vote  being  passed,  before  the  meeting-house  was  finished,  directing 
the  seating  committee  to  "  seat  men  and  women  indiscriminately." 


260  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6. 


Neither  the  mone}'  for  a  new  church  nor  for  the  support  of  Mr. 
Breck  was  voted  in  town-meeting,  this  business,  as  we  have  before 
indicated,  being  attended  to  b}^  the  inhabitants  of  each  precinct. 
The  moment  that  the  town  broke  up  into  precincts  and  parishes,  the 
town-meeting  en  bloc  surrendered  certain  functions.  At  the  precinct 
meetings  the  schools  and  sundry  local  matters  were  attended  to,  a 
part  of  the  school  money  being  appropriated  to  each  precinct  by  the 
general  town-meeting.  At  the  parish  meetings  the  members  were 
admitted  or  disciplined,  but  at  the  meeting  of  the  "  inhabitants  of 
the  precinct  and  parish  "  the  finance  and  other  business  of  church 
was  transacted. 

There  was  a  flourishing  grammar  school  in  the  centre  of  the  village, 
and  there  were  schools  also  at  West  Springfield,  Longmeadow,  Upper 
Chicopee,  Lower  Chicopee,  Agawam,  Feeding  Hills,  Ireland,  Skipmuck, 
the  Mountain  Parish  (AYilbraham) ,  Upper  Causeway  (Centre),  Long 
Hill,  Pawcatuck,  and  Taltum.  The  various  parishes  or  precincts 
were  from  time  to  time  directed  by  the  town-meeting  to  do  certain 
town  work.  This  probably  is  the  explanation  why  the  First  Parish  con- 
tinued to  support  a  fire  brigade  until  the  beginning  of  the  present  cen- 
tury. It  may  have  started  very  much  as  the  school  duties  imposed  by 
the  town  on  the  parishes.  Witness  this  in  May,  1741  :  "  Voted  that 
the  committee  of  the  first  parish  in  Springfield  be  Desired  to  Provide 
School  Master  or  Masters  or  School  Dame  or  Dames  for  English  School- 
ing in  s"^  Parish  as  shall  be  needful  for  that  Pmd  Takeing  the  advice  & 
approbation  of  the  Selectmen  therein  at  the  Charge  of  the  Town  not 
Exceeding  five  months."  We  take  it  that  the  income  from  the  school 
lands  was  received  by  the  town,  and  certainly  at  this  thne  the  ministry 
lands  were  still  managed  by  the  town,  but  in  a  way  that  the  precinct 
would  agree  to.  Thus  it  was  voted  in  town-meeting  in  1749  that 
''  David  Chapin  be  a  Committee  to  take  care  of  the  Ministry  land  in 
the  outward  commons  in  s'^  Town,  and  consult  the  Several  Ministers 
in  s*^  Town  Respecting  the  same."  A  £70  brick  school-house  was  or- 
dered by  the  town  in  1745,  twenty-one  by  eighteen  feet  in  size. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6.  261 


It  is  cnrions  tluit  ;it  this  time  the  vote  for  the  poor  was  quite  equal 
to  the  regular  appropriatiou  for  schools,  which  may  possibly  be  ac- 
counted for  by  the  war  then  in  progress  with  the  French  and  Indians. 

Here  follows  a  list  of  members  of  the  First  Parish  who  lost 
their  lives  at  Louisburg :  Lieut.  John  Munn,  Jonathan  Warriner, 
Israel  Warner,  Abner  Hancock,  John  Ashley,  Pelatiah  Jones,  John 
Crowfoot,  Gideon  Warriner,  Benjamin  Knowlton,  Jr.,  Samuel  Chapin, 
Jr.,  Asabel  Chapin,  Ebenezer  Warner,  Ebenezer  Thomas,  Reuben 
Hitchcock,  Joseph  Mears,  George  ]\Iygate,  and  Reuben  Dorchester. 

The  capture  of  F'ort  Massachusetts  (Adams,  Berkshire  county) 
by  the  French  and  Indians  in  174(3,  and  another  bloody  Indian 
attack  upon  Deertield,  renewed  the  fears  of  the  people  of  the  valley. 
Two  years  later  a  fight  on  the  New  Hampshire  border  is  of  more 
immediate  interest  to  Springfield.  In  1 748  Capt.  Humphrey  Hobbs, 
of  Springfield,  and  Lieutenant  Alexander,  of  Xorthfield,  left  Fort 
Charlestown  for  the  fort  in  Heath.  They  had  many  Springfield 
soldiers  with  them,  and  were  attacked  while  at  dinner  by  Sackett,  a 
half-breed,  descended  of  a  Westfield  captive,  it  is  supposed,  and 
three  hundred  savages.  It  was  a  four  hours'  sharp-shooting  affray 
behind  trees,  during  which  Hobbs  and  Sackett,  who  were  old  acquaint- 
ances, interchanged  dreadful  threats  and  commands  for  surrender. 
Hobbs  finally  charged  and  won  easily. 

In  1755,  when  the  Hampshire  regiment  under  Col.  Ephraim  Will- 
iams accompanied  the  expedition  to  Crown  Point,  there  was  another 
season  of  anxiety.  Lieut.  Nathaniel  Burt,  who  accompanied  Williams, 
fell  with  that  hero  (the  virtual  founder  of  Williams  College),  Septem- 
ber 8,  1755.  Burt  served  in  Capt.  Luke  Hitchcock's  company.  It 
may  be  interesting  to  give  Burt's  outfit  at  the  time  of  his  death :  A 
great-coat,  a  camlet  scarlet  double-breasted  jack-coat,  a  German 
serge  waist-coat,  a  striped  Holland  shirt,  a  pair  of  leather  breeches, 
a  felt  hat,  brass  shoe-buckles,  a  hatchet,  etc. 

The  French  and  the  Indians  assaulted  the  northern  settlements  of 
the  Connecticut  valley  in  1 756.     Fear  of  the  victorious  Montcalm  drove 


262  SPR/NGFIELD,    1636-18S6. 


Governor  Pownal  in  1757  to  mass  a  large  force  of  cavahy  and  infantr}^ 
at  Springfield  to  check  his  advance  from  Lake  George.  But  the  move 
was  unnecessary,  and  in  1760  Canada  became  a  British  province. 

There  are  a  multitude  of  smaller  matters  that  one  might  linger  over 
with  curious  but  time-consuming  interest.  We  find  the  town  direct- 
ing (1739)  William  Pynchon  to  oppose  the  Brookfield  petition  before 
the  General  Court  for  liberty  to  make  a  "  Passagewa}^  through 
severall  Barrs  in  Chiccuppi  River  for  Shad  to  Pass  ;  "  we  find  orders 
for  three  or  more  "  good  Handsome  Hew'd  stones  to  be  placed 
before  the  front  door  of  the  town-house ; "  for  the  selectmen  to 
lease  out  (1737)  all  town  lands  "  together  with  the  Land  and  Bury- 
ing yard  at  the  Middle  of  the  Town  for  the  term  of  five  years  to  the 
best  advantage  ;  "  for  a  w^orkhouse  (1742)  on  the  prison  lot,  and  for 
the  payment  of  all  appropriations  in  "  old  Tener  bills." 

Agawam  was  granted  its  desire  to  be  set  off  as  a  separate  district 
in  1754.  The  Governor  of  Massachusetts  had  been  warned  by  the 
king  in  1753  against  the  multiplication  of  towns  with  representatives 
in  General  Court,  and  so  the  expedient  of  setting  up  districts  unrep- 
resented was  resorted  to.  These  districts  became  towns  by  an  act 
passed  in  1777.  During  the  year  1753  a  proposition  to  bridge  the 
Agaw^am  river  b}'  a  lottery  scheme  had  been  voted  down.  The  total 
town  expenses  in  1746  were  £600,  which  showed  how  Springfield  was 
growing,  as  the  church  expenses  were  not  included  in  the  general 
tax.  In  1741  rewards  w^ere  offered  for  the  destruction  of  the  fol- 
lowing pests :  Woodchucks  or  ground  raccoons,  9cL  ;  old  black- 
birds, 2d.  ;  young  blackbirds,  If?.  ;  crows,  6f?.  :  blackbirds"  eggs,  per 
doz.,  4cL 

The  selectmen  of  1737  were  William  P^mchon,  Capt.  John  Day, 
John  Burt,  Luke  Hitchcock,  Jr.,  and  Thomas  Colton.  Ten  years 
later  the  officers  were  :  Moderator,  Capt.  Thomas  Stebbins  ;  clerk  and 
treasurer,  Edward  Pynchon ;  selectmen,  James  Warriner,  Francis 
Ball,  William  Stebbins,  Joseph  Pynchon,  Luke  Hitchcock,  Jr., 
Ebenezer  Hitchcock,  Jonathan  Church.     At  the  end  of  still  another 


SPRINGFrELD,    1636-1SS6.  263 

deciide  (1757)  we  find  Josiah  Dwight  being  called  to  the  nioderatoi- 
ship,  and  figuring  as  one  of  the  foremost  citizens. 

We  have  to  record  the  death,  in  1741,  of  Col.  William  Pynchon, 
justice  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas.  His  wife  was  Katharine 
Brew^er,  daughter  of  Rev.  Daniel  Brewer  and  sister  of  Eunice  Brewer, 
who  had  become  the  Avife  of  Rev.  Robert  Breck.  Other  deaths  were 
Col.  John  Pynchon,  clerk  of  courts,  in  1742;  Dea.  Henry  Burt,  in 
1748;  and  of  Dea.  Nathaniel  Church,  in  17G1.  Colonel  Pyuchon's 
wife  was  the  daughter  of  Rev.  Mr.  Tavlor,  of  Westfield. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

17(;i-1783. 

Col.  John  Worthington. — Josiah  Dwight.  —  Beujamiu  Day.  —  Prominent  Doctors.— 
The  Small-pox. —  Hanging  of  Shaw.  —  The  Wait  Monument. —  Parish  Matters. — 
Jedediah  Bliss.  —  Springfield  Mountains.  —  Stony  Hill.  —  "West  Springfield  attempts 
to  rule  the  Town.  —  Is  setofi'as  a  Separate  Town.  —  John  Worthington's  Tory  Senti- 
ment.—  Other  Springfield  Tories.  —  Town  Officers  for  1775.  —  Lexington.  —  Spring- 
field Minute-Men.  —  Letter  from  a  Springfield  Soldier.  —  Revolutionary  Soldiers  from 
Springfield.  —  ISIoses  Bliss.  —  The  Py  nchon  Family  again.  —  Town  Acts  and  Resolves. 
—  The  March  to  Ticonderoga.  —  More  Revolutionary  Soldiers.  — The  State  Constitu- 
tion.—  John  Worthington  in  Growing  Favor.  —  Financial  Distress.  —  Depreciation  of 
Curreuc}'.  —  An  Inter-State  Convention  at  Springfield.  —  Fluctuations  in  Values. — 
Warrants  of  Distress. 

The  period  opens  with  John  Worthington  and  Josiah  Dwight  in  the 
General  Court,  and  AVorthington,  Capt.  Ebenezer  Hitchcock,  Maj. 
Benjamin  Day,  Aaron  Colton,  and  Edward  Pynchon,  selectmen  of 
the  town.  Major  Day  was  the  most  prominent  man  on  the  west  side 
of  the  river. 

Before  the  Revolution  Phineas  Lyman,  of  Suffleld,  was  the  brightest 
light  of  the  Hampshire  bar  so  long  as  he  remained  a  practitioner 
here.  But  his  name  comes  down  to  us  as  the  law  instructor  of  two 
notable  men,  —  Joseph  Hawley,  of  Northampton,  the  Otis  of  western 
Massachusetts,  and  Col.  John  Worthington,  of  Springfield.  These 
two  attorneys  rose  to  be  about  equal  sharers  of  the  law  practice  of 
the  county.  One  was  conscientious,  slow,  profound ;  the  other 
lighter  in  temperament  and  quicker  in  mental  processes,  but  by  no 
means  equal  to  that  kind  of  agility  of  thought  that  can  surrender 
the  traditions  of  the  fathers  when  the  opportunity  for  a  righteous 
revolution  offers  itself.     AVorthinoton  was  a  good  deal  of    a  social 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  265 


light,  withal,  [iikI  tory  to  the  core.  Hawle}^  was  much  better  equipped 
to  put  his  stalwart  shoulder  to  the  wheel  of  democracy  that  was  des- 
tined to  be  rolled  across  the  century. 

Among  Worthington's  co-practitioners  in  Springfield  was  one  Qox- 
nelms  Jones,  who  had  risen  from  a  tailor's  bench  ;  also  Moses  Bliss 
and  Jonathan  Bliss.  Colonel  Worthington  received  his  military  title 
by  his  command  of  the  western  Hampshire  regiment  of  militia.  He 
figures  on  a  committee  of  the  Legislature  which  recommended  a  con- 
gress at  New  York  in  October,  1765,  which  pronmlgated  the  "  Dec- 
laration of  Rights  and  Grievances."  It  is  pretty  evident  that  he  did 
not  dominate  the  committee,  for  he  declined  to  attend  that  congress 
as  delegate.  Colonel  Worthington  was  not  alone  in  this  devotion  to 
the  law  and  the  government  of  Great  Britain  ;  some  of  the  best  men  in 
the  village,  socially  considered,  shrank  from  the  ordeal  of  a  conflict 
with  the  mother-country,  even  upon  so  vital  a  point  as  taxation  with- 
out representation. 

The  medical  profession,  as  well  as  the  legal,  was  well  represented 
at  Springfield  at  this  period,  among  the  doctors  being  Charles  Pyn- 
chon,  Edward  Chapin,  John  Vanhorn,  and  Timothy  Cooper.  The 
necessity  of  garrison  soldiers,  no  doubt,  was  a  means  of  spreading 
disease,  and  the  records  show  that  deaths  from  small-pox  became 
frequent  in  1758,  and  appropriations  as  high  as  £150,  for  stricken 
soldiers  alone,  were  made  by  the  town.  The  question  of  inoculation 
gave  rise  to  spirited  debates,  and  a  motion  for  an  inoculation  hos- 
pital was  voted  down,  and  the  practice  prohibited  "  in  any  manner  or 
shape  whatever."  To  avoid  misunderstanding  the  selectmen  were 
expressly  directed  to  desire  "  Doc*"  Pynchon  to  Desist  from  Innocu- 
lating  any  Person  or  persons  in  this  Town."  A  pest-house  was, 
however,  built,  and  Dr.  John  Dickinson,  who  had  been  sununoned 
from  Middletown,  Conn.,  seems  to  have  had  the  burden  of  the  medical 
care;  but  his  bill  —  over  £100  — was  contested,  and  he  was  com- 
pelled to  collect  it  by  due  process  of  law. 

Springfield  witnessed  a  hanging  in  November,   1770,   when   Shaw 


2C^ii  SFR  TNG  FIELD,     1 63  6-1 8S  6. 


suffered  deiith  for  the  killing"  of  Earl,  a  fellow-prisoner.  People  came 
from  all  parts  of  the  county,  and,  before  his  taking  off.  Rev.  Mr. 
Baldwin,  of  Palmer,  preached  a  sermon,  and  Rev.  Robert  Breck  of- 
fered a  prayer. 

The  Wait  monument,  on  Armory  hill,  one  of  Springfield's  cherished 
landmarks,  belongs  to  this  earl}'  period.  It  now  stands  some  twenty 
feet  east  of  its  original  site,  and  was  erected  in  1763,  by  Joseph  Wait, 
of  Brookfield,  to  mark  the  road  to  Boston,  he  presumably  having  lost 
his  way.  Tradition  says  that  he  nearly  lost  his  life  in  a  snow-storm, 
having  by  mistake  taken  the  Skipmuck  road.  Joseph  Wait,  it  may 
be  added,  was  a  descendant  of  Richard  Wayte,  of  Watertown,  who 
was  the  ancestor  of  the  late  Chief  Justice  Waite  of  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court. 

The  incorporation  of  the  connnon  lands  was  causing  some  trouble. 
In  1772  the  outer  connnons  connnittee  reported  m  reference  to  the 
"•  several  pretended  Crants  &  Divisions  "  of  land  made  since  1713  by 
those  calling  themselves  proprietors,  that  they  were  "  arbitrary,  un- 
legal  &  unjust  &  in  Regard  to  their  power  of  Disposing  of  e'm  was 
altogether  illegal."  The  town,  however,  in  order  to  save  trouble, 
confirmed  all  these  grants  except  where  roads  were  required,  as  well 
as  stone  quarries  and  river-banks  containing  stone.  The  same  3^ear 
John  Worthington  headed  a  committee  to  consider  the  ''  doings  &  pro- 
ceedings of  the  proprietors  of  the  Inward  Connnons."  The  same 
meeting  refused  to  surrender  to  the  proprietors  the  right  to  cut  timber 
in  the  outward  connnons  of  Springfield  and  Wilbraham.  The  town 
annually  appointed  a  special  committee  to  protect  the  town's  interests 
in  the  common  lands. 

In  1771  Thomas  Stebbins  headed  a  committee  to  build  a  new  brick 
school-house  in  the  first  parish;  cost,  £117.  That  year,  also,  the 
selectmen,  consisting  of  Col.  John  Worthington,  Edward  Pynchon, 
Maj.  Benjamin  Day,  Nathaniel  Ely,  Jr.,  John  Leonard,  Moses  Bliss, 
and  Daniel  Harris,  stood  up  and  '"took  the  oath  Respicting  Bills  of 
the  neiii'hbouriuo;  Governments." 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-2886.  267 


The  course  of  the  First  Parish  was  for  many  years  unbroken  by  any 
theological  combat,  and  the  ministry,  begun  in  unseemly  contention, 
progressed  in  almost  prosaic  prosperity.  The  nearest  approach  to 
trouble  was  an  episode  of  the  year  1766.  It  was  at  the  close  of 
March.  The  congregation  were  joining  in  the  usual  hymn,  when 
Jedediah  Bliss,  a  tanner,  began  reading  aloud,  to  the  great  scandal 
of  the  whole  church.  After  the  service  Edward  Pynchon  held  a  long 
conference  with  Mr.  Bliss,  and  attempted  to  disabuse  his  mind  of 
sundry  vicious  and  irreverend  notions.  Bliss  was  an  eccentric  man, 
and  lionest,  but  lacking  in  judgment,  and  rather  coarse-fibred  withal. 
He  was  familiarl}^  known  as  "  J  eddy  Bliss."  Any  man  or  woman 
who  was  a  "  leetle  queer  "  was  locally  characterized  as  "  Jeddy." 
Edward  Pjmchon,  a  brother  of  Dr.  Charles  Pynchon,  with  all  the 
prestige  of  family,  official  prominence,  and  Christian  character,  could 
make  no  lasting  impression  upon  Jedediah  Bliss  ;  and  two  other  mem- 
bers of  the  congregation  were  brought  in,  but  with  no  better  success. 
Accordingly  Mr.  Bliss  was  debarred  from  Christian  privileges  "till 
gospel  satisfaction  is  made  for  s''  offense."  Some  months  later 
(Sept.,  1767),  Mr.  Bliss  told  the  people  gathered  at  lecture  that  he 
would  like  to  make  a  confession  of  his  offence  of  disturbing  public 
worship  by  reading  during  the  singing  ;  but  it  was  promptly  voted  to 
adhere  "  to  the  antient  Practice  of  receiving  confessions  of  Publick 
offences  only  before  the  Congregation."  A  year  later  Mr.  Bliss  car- 
ried his  point  so  far  as  to  secure  an  agreement  that  Mr.  Breck  should 
read  his  confession  to  the  congregation,  and  so  the  wanderer  was 
"  restored  to  charity." 

In  1762  the  petition  of  the  Fourth  Parish  for  a  township  was  first 
denied,  then  re-considered,  and  re-denied  with  some  feeling.  In  less 
than  a  year  AVorthington  and  Dwight  were  commissioned  to  oppose 
the  petition  of  Hardwick,  Greenwich,  and  other  towns  for  a  new 
county  out  of  eastern  Hampshire.  In  this  year,  however,  little  Wil- 
braham  obtained  its  incorporation  in  spite  of  the  Centre  ;  and  it  may  be 
said,  by  way  of    bringing    the   thread   of  that  history  down  to  this 


268  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


period,  that  the  "  Outward  Commons"  were  settled  about  1731,  and 
were  known  also  as  ''  Springtield  Mountains,"  which,  in  1741,  became 
the  Fourth  Parish,  or  precinct,  and  in  June,  1763,  joined  the  famil}'  of 
Massachusetts  towns,  although,  technically,  it  was  simply  a  district 
nnder  Springfield's  wing  for  some  years.  This  was  due,  as  we  have 
explained,  to  the  royal  jealousy  at  the  multiplication  of  townships. 
In  1767  Springfield  and  the  district  of  Wilbraham  met  and  chose 
Jolm  AA'orthington  as  their  common  representative  to  the  General 
Court.  In  1770  the  Stony  Hill  people  (Ludlow)  applied  for  the 
privilege  of  a  district ;  but  Springfield,  as  usual,  opposed  this.  A 
more  favorable  answer  was  received  in  1771,  and  in  1774  Ludlow  was 
duly  incorporated  by  the  Legislature,  under  circumstances  soon  to  be 
related. 

Then  there  was  Longmeadow,  which  wanted  more  than  precinct 
prerogatives,  and  on  March  17,  1772,  Springfield  granted  the  request, 
and  undertook  in  A'ain  to  reconsider  the  vote.  A  subsequent  town- 
meeting  reversed  the  action,  and  the  date  of  its  incorporation  is  1783o 

West  Springfield  was  the  favorite  child  of  S[)ringfield,  and,  as  usual 
in  such  cases,  the  one  that  caused  the  most  trouble  in  the  family.  It 
is  evident  that,  even  at  that  early  day,  there  was  in  the  breasts  of  the 
w^est-siders  a  feeling  of  paramount  local  importance,  although  they 
had  secured  a  separate  minister,  by  expressly  disavowing  an}^  ambi- 
tion for  township.  They  gathered  in  towm-meeting  in  1770  in  full 
force,  and  came  within  a  few  votes  of  carrying  a  motion  to  hold  half 
of  the  town-meetings  on  the  west  side  (except  the  annual  May  meet- 
ing), and  the  next  year  they  tried  to  have  the  grammar  school  trans- 
ferred there  for  one  year.  There  was  an  untoward  feeling  afloat.  The 
Centre  was  resolved  to  hold  to  its  possessions,  especially  as  the  "  great 
and  general  field  "  was  on  the  west  side  ;  but  the  inhabitants  of  the 
"  Twenty-rod  Road "  were  equally  resolved  upon  ruling  the  town. 
The  inconvenience  of  crossing  the  great  river  for  town-meetings, 
grammar  school,  etc.,  was  of  course  a  great  drawback  to  the  west 
side. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  269 

Matters  had  now  (1773)  come  to  such  a  pass  that  the  west-siders 
were  determined  to  have  their  own  way,  or  go  their  own  way.  The 
usual  course  had  been  for  the  town-meeting  to  organize  with  Colcmel 
AVorthington  as  moderator,  and  to  appoint  Pklward  P3"nchon  clerk  and 
treasurer,  and  then  to  put  both  on  the  board  (jf  selectmen.  The 
March  meeting  of  1773  challenged  all  the  elements  of  discord  into 
activity.  After  Colonel  Wortliington  had  been  made  moderator, 
Benjamin  Day,  clerk,  and  Edward  Pynclion,  treasurer,  great  excite- 
ment prevailed,  the  election  of  Day  showing  that  the  revolt  was  for- 
midable. The  victory  was  made  complete  by  a  motion  to  adjourn 
for  two  days,  and  to  reassemble  at  tlie  meeting-house  in  West  Spring- 
field. There  the  town-meeting  was  actually  held.  Imagine  the  feel- 
ings of  mortification  and  exasperation  in  tlie  bosoms  of  tlie  aristo- 
cratic Blisses,  AVortliingtons,  Brewers,  Stebbinses,  and  Pynchons,  as 
tlie}^  crossed  tlie  river  to  attend  a  Springfield  town-meeting  in  the 
comparative  wilderness  of  the  west  side  !  The  old  board  of  select- 
men (1772)  were:  Col.  John  Worthington,  Edward  Pynchon,  Dea. 
Nathaniel  Ely,  Dea.  John  Leonard,  Dea.  Daniel  Harris,  Dea.  Jona- 
than White,  and  Moses  Bliss.  Moses  Bliss,  the  son  of  our  Jedecliah 
Bliss,  was  at  this  time  becoming  a  prominent  person.  He  was  des- 
tined to  become  the  ancestor  of  three  George  Blisses,  —  son,  grand- 
son, and  great-grandson,  —  whose  careers  are  interwoven  in  our  local 
annals. 

The  first  move  of  what  may  be  called  the  new  party  (because  the 
revolt  was  not  confined  to  West  Springfield,  but  was  favored  by  some 
at  the  Centre)  was  to  make  up  a  list  of  nine  selectmen.  Pynchon, 
Harris,  and  Bliss  were  stricken  from  the  old  board,  and  Col.  Benjamin 
Day,  Dr.  Charles  Pynchon,  Lieut.  Benjamin  Leonard,  Aaron  Colton, 
and  Benjamin  Ely  were  chosen  to  fill  out  the  list.  Whereupon  the 
astute  moderator,  Colonel  Worthington,  declined  to  serve  as  select- 
man, and  John  Hale  was  prom[)tly  put  in  his  place.  Thus  was  the 
flower  of  the  Centre  plucked  and  rudely  dragged,  so  to  speak,  through 
the  streets   of    AYest  Springfield  I     The  friends   of    AVorthington    at 


270  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

onci'  began  to  obstruct  the  proceediDgs  and  to  call  for  the  polling  of 
the  house  upon  every  motion,  and  it  was  agreed  to  suspend  the  elec- 
tion of  town  officers  for  five  days  (March  30,  1773),  pending  a  con- 
ference as  to  what  should  be  done  in  the  emergency.  Tlie  next 
meeting  was  in  the  court-house  on  tlie  east  side  ;  but  that  temple  of 
justice  had  no  better  effect  upon  the  spirits  of  men,  and  still  again 
the  meeting  adjourned  for  one  day  in  ill-temper  to  the  West  Spring- 
field side.  A  remarkable  scene  followed.  A  prominent  man,  pre- 
sumably Colonel  AVorthington,  as  he  was  chairman  of  a  conference 
connnittee  chosen  to  consider  the  deplorable  state  of  the  town,  read 
the  following  report :  — 

That  the  said  town  is  in  a  most  Unhappy  &  Melancholy  state  that  considering 
the  situation  &  Circumstances  of  the  town  &  the  Inclinations  and  tempers  of  the 
Inhabitants  there  is  no  prospect  they  Can  Longer  Manage  their  public  Affairs  to 
Mutual  &,  General  advantage  in  one  intire  corporate  Body  but  that  it  is  quite 
necessary  that  there  should  be  some  Division  thereof, 

That  no  mode  or  terms  of  Division  can  be  devised  which  the  Generality  of  the 
Inhabitants  in  the  several  parts  of  the  town  would  accede  to  and  acquiesse  in, 

That  it  is  Consequently  Absolutely  Necessary  for  the  Peace  and  Happiness  of 
the  whole  that  the  Mode  &  terms  of  their  Divition  should  be  referr'd  and  sub- 
mitted to  the  Determination  of  Judicious  &  Disinterested  persons  from  abroad. 

The  report  contained  other  peace-fostering  recommendations,  and 
seems  to  have  been  imanimously  adopted.  A  better  feeling  existed, 
as  appears  from  the  adjournment  to  the  Springfield  court-house  two 
days  later,  when  the  work  of  electing  town  officers  proceeded 
smoothly.  The  arbitrators  contemplated  in  the  report  of  the  con- 
ference above  quoted  were  AYilliam  Williams,  Erastus  Wolcott,  and 
Joseph  Root.  This  committee  made  an  elaborate  report,  which  was 
submitted  to  a  special  town-meeting  held  in  May.  The  board  of 
arbitrators  took  occasion  to  say  that  they  considered  it  *'  a  Great 
TInhappiness  that  the  most  Antiant  and  Respectable  town  in  the 
County  of   Hampshn-e,   the  wise  and  peaceable   Conduct  of   whose 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  271 

public  affairs  has  ever  to  this  Da}'  Done  much  Honour  to  the 
Inhabitants  and  established  a  just  Veneration  for  their  leading  men 
should  by  Means  only  of  the  supposed  or  Real  Indiscretion  and 
Mistakes  of  a  few  persons  be  Reduced  to  the  necessity  of  a  Divi- 
sion." The  committee  then  proceeded  to  make  a  separation  more 
difficult  by  deciding  that  while  the  Connecticut  river  should  be  the 
dividing  line,  the  lands  on  the  west  side  in  the  ''  Great  and  General 
Field  "  should  be  taxed  in  the  town  where  the  owners  thereof  live  ; 
that  the  public  buildings  should  belong  to  the  town  in  which  they 
fell  by  the  division  ;  that  no  other  division  should  be  made,  but  if,  on 
further  consideration,  the  new  arrangement  did  not  prove  satisfactory, 
that  the  Third  and  Fifth  Parishes  should  be  erected  into  districts. 

This  report  was  rejected  with  great  alacrity,  and  the  kettle 
simmered  until  November  2,  when  the  west  side  made  a  vain  attempt 
to  get  the  grammar  scliool  transferred  over  the  river  for  the  winter. 
Motions  to  hold  the  town-meetings  on  the  west  side,  and  to  set  up 
Longmeadow  as  a  district,  were  also  AOted  down.  At  the  January 
town-meeting  (1774)  the  new  party  put  through  a  motion  giving  the 
west  parish  a  share  of  the  town-meetings.  A  committee,  headed  by 
Benjamin  Day,  was  chosen  to  explain  to  the  General  Court  the 
nature  of  the  several  petitions  praying  for  divisions  of  tlie  town. 
Tlie  Third  Parish  was  voted  a  district,  and  the  meeting  adjourned  for 
three  days  to  the  west  side.  We  will  let  the  records  tell  the  rest  of 
the  narrative :  — 

At  a  Lawfull  town  Meeting  of  the  Inhalntance  of  the  town  of  Springfield  Jan'" 
the  20  :  1774  holden  by  Adjournment  from  the  17  of  sd  Jan""  to  liecive  the  Report 
of  their  Comittee  — 

Voted  to  Accept  the  Report  of  the  Committee  appointed  to  Draw  up  Instruc- 
tions for  the  Agents  and  that  they  prefer  to  the  General  Court  tlie  answer  of  the 
town  to  the  several  petitions  praying  for  a  Division  thereof  which  is  as  fol- 
loweth  — 

We  the  Subscribers  being  appointed  by  the  town  of  Springfeild  a  Committee 
to  Draw  nj)  Instructions  for  the  Agents  to  prefer  to  tlie  General  Court  relating 


272  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

to  several  Petitions  for  tlie  Division  of  the  town  beg  leave  to  Report  as  follows, 
viz  — 

To  Cor"  Benja  Day,  Left  Benj^  Leonard  &  Uea'^  Nath*^^!  Ely  — 

Gentlemen  you  being  Chosen  by  the  town  as  Agents  to  make  answer  in  the 
General  Court  to  several  petitions  now  Depending  tliere  praying  for  a  Devision 
of  said  town  —  we  Do  Desire  you  to  Use  your  Influence  with  the  Representatives 
of  said  tOAvn  to  prevent  by  all  proper  Avays  and  means  in  their  Power  any  General 
Devision  thereof  and  that  you  make  Use  of  Counsel  to  assist  you  therein  as  you 
shall  think  necessary  and  that  you  offer  such  Reasons  against  any  General  Divi- 
tion  thereof  as  you  shall  think  propper  and  Reasonable  also  that  you  prefer  the 
following  to  the  Great  &  General  Court  as  an  answer  to  the  petitions  now 
Depending  tlierein  x)raying  for  a  Division  of  said  town. 
SpKiXGKEiLi);  Jan""  20  :   1774r 

JoHX  Hale 
JohT"  White 
Benja  Ely 
Justin  Ely 

Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay 

To  his  Excellency  thomas  Hutchinson  Esq''  Captain  General  and  Governor  in 
Chief  in  and  over  his  Majesty  Province  of  Massachusetts  Bay;  the  Honorable 
his  Majesty  Council  and  House  of  Kepresentatives  in  General  Court  Assembled 
at  Boston  on  the  20  Day  of  January,  1774  — 

May  it  Please  your  Excellency  &  Honours  —  tlie  town  of  Springfeild  have 
been  Notified  and  cited  to  Shew  Cause  if  Any  tliey  iiave  why  the  Petitions  of  the 
first  Parish  and  also  the  Petition  of  part  of  the  8d  and  4  Parishes  and  also  the 
Petition  of  a  place  called  Stouny  Hill  in  said  Springfeild  now  Depending  in  the 
General  Court  praying  for  a  Division  of  Said  town  should  not  be  Granted  the 
town  suppose  no  general  Division  thereof  at  Present  either  necessary  or  E^ligable 
but  that  if  an}'  Particular  part  thereof  are  Dissatisfied  with  there  connections 
with  the  Main  Body  it  is  but  Reasonable  they  should  Petition  to  be  made  a  Dis- 
trict Corporation  but  as  the  Petitioners  have  Alledged  a  Number  of  Facts  in  their 
Petition  which  we  think  have  a  tendency  to  give  your  Excellency  &  Hon"'  a  Mis- 
understanding of  the  State  of  this  town  we  Must  beg  leave  to  make  some  few 
Remarks  thereon.  The  Difficulties  that  have  Arisen  in  the  town  have  been  too 
notorious  to  be  wliolly  Concealed  and  we  hartily  wish  we  Could  say  that  any 
Particular  Parish  had  not  been  the  Occasion  thereof.  A  Particular  Detail  of  facts 
might   be   made  but  we  Choose  a  Veil   of  Oblivion  should  be  drawn  over  them 


SPRIXGFIELD,    163G-2SS6.  273 


Excepting  so  far  as  may  be  necessary  to  set  the  Conduct  of  the  Rest  of  the  town 
in  a  faire  Light. 

A  Numlier  of  Circumstances  Concurred  Last  March  to  bring  the  tOAvn  Gener- 
ally togather  at  their  annual  town  meeting  for  the  Choice  of  Town  officers  &c  in 
which  the  ToAvn  Chose  to  make  some  alteration  in  their  officers  Avhich  was  so 
Disagreeable  to  several  Parsons  in  the  first  Parish  that  they  endeavored  in  an  Un- 
preseuted  manner  to  Obstruct  and  hinder  the  Business  of  the  Meeting  by  a  suffi- 
cient Number  apijearing  to  Object  to  almost  every  Vote  when  it  Avas  indisputable 
to  every  Body  present  and  this  not  onely  in  ^Matters  of  Importance  but  also  in 
the  Choice  of  the  ]Most  Inconsiderable  officers  Avhereby  the  List  of  the  Voters 
Avas  obliged  to  be  called  Avhich  Necessarily  took  up  some  Houres  and  this 
was  FolloAved  about  three  Days  v!c  a  half  Avith  the  Express  and  AvoAved  Design  to 
git  the  toAvn  to  send  to  the  general  Court  for  a  Committee  to  Divide  the  same  a 
Measure  then  and  ever  sence  very  Disagreeable  to  much  the  greatest  part  of  sd 
toAvn  and  this  Avas  continued  untill  the  Avithin  a  fcAv  Hours  of  Extent  of  time 
alloAved  by  LaAv  to  Make  Choice  of  Toavu  officers  Avhereby  many  considered 
themselves  under  a  Necessity  of  Complying  to  have  a  Committee.  The  Petitioners 
are  very  much  mistaken  in  their  Representation  of  a  Report  made  by  a  Committee 
of  the  tOAvii  tliat  an  Application  to  the  general  Court  for  a  Committee  to  DiA'ide 
the  same  Avas  the  Only  Expedient  to  Restore  Peace  and  Prevent  Discord  and  Con- 
fusion for  Ave  are  Informed  by  a  Number  of  said  Committee  that  no  such  Report 
Avas  made  or  agreed  to  by  the  Major  part  of  them  and  Ave  are  Certain  there  is  no 
such  Article  in  their  Report  as  Enter^^  on  the  tOAvn  Record,  but  their  Report  Avas 
to  Choose  a  Committee  in  the  Neighboring  toAvns  &c. 

The  tOAvn  had  ahvays  avoided  applying  to  the  General  Court  because  they 
Avould  be  Left  at  Liberty  about  excepting  a  report  of  any  Committee  about  a 
Division  of  the  tOAvn  as  they  should  think  eligable  or  not  —  and  the  charge  of 
Insincerity  is  utterly  groundless  and  Avithout  Foundation  and  only  mentioned  as 
Ave  Conceive  Avith  the  Designe  of  Representing  thetoAvn  in  an  Unfa\'ourable  Light 
to  your  Excellency  and  Honours.  The  Petitioners  alledge  a  Vote  of  the  toAvn 
that  a  Division  thereof  Avas  necessary  &c  but  it  should  be  Remembered  that  there 
had  been  Application  before  that  time  by  Stony  Hill  so  called  and  Long  MeadoAv 
to  be  made  seperate  toAvns  or  Districts  and  they  had  obtained  the  tOAvns  Consent 
thereto  these  people  might  vote  in  that  manner  from  their  OAvn  particular  Circum- 
stances others  from  the  Necessity  they  Avas  then  Under  as  before  referred  to. 
But  Avhen  the  Report  Avas  made  the  toAvn  Could  not  Consent  to  it,  and  the  folloAv- 
i!ig  Avitli  others  not  ^lentioned  might  be  their  Reasons  for  Rejecting  it  (viz)  no 
alloAvance  Avas  therebv  made  to  the  Avestern  town  Avhich  Avas  to  be  erected  f or  anv 


274  SPRIXGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

Moneys  they  had  Expended  for  Public  Buildings  in  the  first  Parish,  no  Care  was 
thereby  taken  of  Money  Particularly  as  to  the  £200  Voted  for  a  bridge  across 
Cliicuepee  River  if  not  expended  for  that  purposs  —  by  said  Report  Connecticutt 
River  was  to  be  the  Dividing  Line  —  and  yit  no  Dividing  Line  was  to  be  fixed : 
Stony  Hill  were  to  receive  their  Share  of  the  Town  Stock  and  have  no  Part  of  the 
Poor ;  the  Jurisdiction  of  the  Meadow  Land,  was  to  be  left  vague  precarious  and 
fluctiating  which  might  be  the  Occasion  of  Great  Disputes  and  Contentions  and 
perhaps  prove  the  Utter  Ruin  of  the  western  Town  these  with  others  probably 
were  the  Reasons  of  the  Towns  Rejecting  the  Report.  We  think  there  will  be 
no  future  Occasion  of  Discord  or  Confusion  in  this  town  if  but  a  few  Individuals 
in  it  can  content  themselves  with  a  reasonable  proportion  of  the  towns  Privileges 
&c. 

As  to  the  Petitions  of  part  of  the  third  and  fourth  Parishes  we  would  observe 
that  the  Petitioners  are  but  a  very  inconsiderable  part  of  two  Large  Parishes  and 
the  much  greatest  part  of  Each  of  those  Parishes  are  very  far  from  being  in  Sen- 
timent with  them  as  to  the  Matter  of  their  Petition  —  the  Inhabitants  of  Stonny 
Hill  have  heretofore  applied  and  received  the  Consent  of  this  ToAvn  for  being 
made  a  separate  Town  or  District  and  we  think  there  Local  Circumstances  are 
such  that  they  can  receive  very  little  if  any  Benefit  from  their  present  Connec- 
tions Avithi  us  Either  as  to  town  or  Parishial  Privileges  —  but  as  the  greatest  Part 
of  them  have  within  a  few  years  moved  into  this  town  from  the  neighboring 
towns  we  cannot  thmk  it  Reasonable  they  should  have  their  Proportion  of  the 
Town  Stock  of  Money  without  being  Chargeable  Avitli  Part  of  the  support  of 
the  Poor  of  the  town. 

We  therefore  pray  youi  Excellency  and  Honours  that  the  prayer  of  the  Peti- 
tioners may  be  dismissed. 

The  General  Court  promptl}^  incorporated  West  Springfield  and 
"  Stonny  Hill,'  or  Ludlow,  as  separate  towns.  It  has  been  wondered 
why  a  township  was  thrust  upon  West  Springfield.  The  above  account 
explains  it.  The  w^est-siders,  b}^  the  aid  of  a  few  from  the  outlying 
districts,  began  a  movement  to  transfer  the  ''seat  of  government" 
to  their  side  of  the  river.  The  Centre  tried  obstruction  for  a  time, 
and  then  appealed  to  the  Legislature,  which  lopped  off  two  Imibs  of 
the  ancient  town,  and  peace  was  restored. 

We  are  now  confronted  with  a  matter  that  subdued  all  local  rival- 
ries, and  filled  the  bosoms  of  the  inhabitants  and  freeholders  of  this 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6.  275 

town  and  all  American  towns  with  deep  and  conflicting  emotions. 
The  first  evidence  of  the  spirit  of  independence  in  this  town  came  to 
the  surface  in  1774.  Colonel  AVorthington  took  his  old  seat  as 
moderator  of  the  town-meeting  in  March.  He,  with  Moses  Bliss, 
John  Hale,  Ensign  Phineas  Chapin,  Dea.  Daniel  Harris,  were  chosen 
selectmen.  Worthiugton  and  John  Bliss  were  in  the  General  Court 
that  year.  Alarming  letters  from  Boston  were  read  in  open  town- 
meeting  concerning  public  affairs  and  the  aggressions  of  England. 
The  citizens  of  Boston  had  a  few  days  before  passed  its  famous  non- 
importation and  non-consumption  resolutions,  and  Massachusetts 
was  thrown  into  a  state  of  the  wildest  excitement.  Springfield 
town-meeting,  on  the  12th  of  July,  1774,  listened  to  the  following 
resolves  drawn  up  by  a  committee  consisting  of  Dea.  Nathaniel 
Brewer,  Capt.  George  Pyuchon,  Dr.  Charles  Pynchon,  Capt.  Simon 
Colton,  Moses  Field,  Jonathan  Hale,  Jr.,  Ensign  Phineas  Chapin, 
James  Sykes,  and  Dea.  Daniel  Harris 

This  Town  taking  into  Serious  &  Deliberate  Consideration  the  present  Dan- 
gerous Scituation  of  this  Province  came  into  the  following  Votes  viz*  (1st) 
That  by  the  Royal  Charter  of  King  AVilliam  &  Queen  Mary ;  which  we  have 
Possessed  for  near  a  Century  and  which  has  from  time  to  time  been  Kecognized 
both  by  Kings  &  Parliament,  we  are  Intitled  to,  and  ought  forever  to  Enjoy  all 
the  Liberties  &  Immunities  of  any  of  his  Majesty's  Subjects  within  any  of  his 
Dominions ;  Some  of  the  most  essential  of  which  are  that  they  Shall  not  be 
Taxed,  but  with  their  own  Consent,  given  in  Person  or  by  their  Representatives, 
not  Disseized  of  their  property,  or  Condemned  to  any  Penalties,  but  by  Judge- 
ment of  good  &  Lawfull  men  of  tlie  Vicinage. 

21y.  That  the  Charters  of  the  Collonies  ought  to  be  held  Sacred  and  every 
Infraction  upon  them,  carefully  avoided,  as  tending  to  Interrupt  that  Harmony 
between  the  Collonies  and  the  Parent  State,  which  is  so  essential  to  the  Hapiness 
of  both. 

3dly.  That  Tho'*  great  Defference  &  Respect  is  due  to  the  wisdom  of  the 
British  Parliament  yet  we  can't  Consider  Our  Selves  as  Enjoying  the  Liberties 
and  Immunities  of  Natural  freeborn  Subjects  of  the  King,  if  we  are  lyable  to 
be  Taxed  without  Representation  or  to  be  disseived  of  our  property;  or  any 
way  punished  without  the  Judgement  of  our  Peers.     Nor  do  we  apprehend  that 


276  SPRING  FIELD.    1036-1886. 


we  have  so  much  as  a  Virtual  representation  in  a  Legislature,  which  is  not  itself 
Subject  to  those  Laws  which  it  imposes  upon  us. 

+thly.  That  the  late  Boston  port  actAvhich  inflicts  a  most  Severe  Punishment 
upon  that  Town  (and  in  its  operation  upon  almost  the  Avhole  Continent)  for 
destruction  made  of  the  Property  of  some  Brhish  Merchants,  by  persons  un- 
known :  and  that  before  any  demand  of  Compensation  was  made,  or  any  Citation 
Sent  to  the  Town  to  answer  for  itself ;  is  a  Step  that  ought  to  alarm  us  and  fill 
us  with  deep  Concern. 

othly.  That  the  proposed  new  System  of  Government,  Virtually  annihilating 
our  most  Essential  Charter  Eights,  added  to  the  Boston  Port  act,  gives  is  Such 
apprehensions  of  the  designs  of  administration  against  our  Liberties,  as  we  have 
never  before  allowed  ourselves  to  Entertain. 

61y.  Impressed  with  Just  Concern  for  our  priviledges  and  at  the  Same  time 
Governed  by  Sentiments  of  Loyalty  to  our  Soveraign  and  with  war m^  affection 
for  our  Mother  Country,  we  ardently  wish  that  all  the  Collony's  and  every 
Individual  in  them,  may  unite  in  Some  prudent  peaceable  Constitutional  meas- 
ures, for  the  Redress  of  our  Grievances  the  Security  of  our  Liberties,  and  the 
Restoration  of  union  and  mutual  Confidence  between  Great  Brittain  and  her 
Collonies. 

71y.  That  it  is  the  unquestionable  Right,  so  we  esteem  it  the  Indispensable 
duty  of  the  several  Collonies,  in  this  day,  to  Correspond  together,  and  act  in 
Consert;  and  we  wait  with  Patience  for  the  result  of  the  approaching  Continental 
Congress.  Hoping  that  Influenced  by  Wisdom  from  above  they  will  Recom- 
mend those  measures  which  Shall  be  both  inoffencive  in  their  Nature  &  Salutary 
in  their  Tendency.  And  as  it  appears  to  us  that  a  discontinuance  of  Trade  ^t 
Commerce  Avith  Great  Brittain  might  Serve  the  Interest  of  the  Country  in  divers 
Respects ;  So  Should  any  well  digested  prudently  regulated  &  practible  plan  for 
this  end  be  proposed,  we  Shall  readily  acc;eed  to  it  &  afford  our  aid  for  the 
Rehef  of  those,  who  may  thereby  be  deprived  of  y^'  means  of  Substance,  as 
well  as  Contribute  to  the  Succour  of  our  Bretheren  already  Suffering  in  their 
Countries  Cause. 

Sly.  In  the  meantime  we  think  it  our  duty  to  Express  our  Utter  abhorrence 
of  all  Such  Resolves  &  measures  as  are  unnecessarily  affrontive  to  the  Brittish 
parliment,  and  carry  an  air  of  Insult  upon  that  Respectable  Body,  as  well  as  of 
all  Tumults  and  riots  among  ourselves.  Insults  upon  mens  persons  &  Invations 
of  their  properties.  We  are  Unanimously  resolved  to  discontenance  every  thing 
of  this  kind  &  to  yield  &  promote  due  obedience  to  his  majesty's  Government  in 
this  Province,  To  treat  his  majestys  Representative,  with  all  due  Respect.  To  aid 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  217 

Inferior  Magistrates  in  the  Regular  Constitutional  Execution  of  the  good  Laws 
we  are  under  and  to  Support  as  far  as  we  are  able  their  Just  Influence  in  their 
RespectiA'e  offices  and  we  hope  those  Gentlemen  Unbiased  by  personal  Interest 
and  greatfully  remembering  that  the  favour  of  the  People  first  raised  them  to 
View  and  Recommended  them  to  the  Honnors  they  Sustain ;  will  readily  unite 
with  us  in  all  reasonable  and  Constitutional  means  of  Redress.  And  tho  we 
will  injure  no  man  in  his  person  or  property  for  diversity  of  opinion,  Yet  we 
Shall  not  think  our  Selves  bound  to  Continue  our  favours  to  any  Gentleman, 
who  lost  to  the  Sentiments  of  Gratitude  &  Humanity  can  cooly  Sacrifice  his 
Countrys  liberties  to  his  own  private  Emolument. 

The  meeting  was  a  full  one,  and  the  resolves  were  passed  by  a 
large  majority  and  at  once  forwarded  to  Boston. 

On  the  20th  of  September  a  county  congress  was  recommended, 
xind  the  following  gentlemen  were  chosen  delegates  in  that  event  : 
Dr.  Charles  Pynchon,  Luke  Bliss,  and  Jonathan  Hale,  Jr.  The 
committee  of  correspondence  was  directed  to  suggest  to  the  towns 
that  the  congress  meet  at  Northampton.  Steps  were  also  taken  to 
aid  in  the  relief  of  the  poor  in  Boston.  The  committee  of  corre- 
spondence was  :  Dr.  Charles  Pynchon,  William  Pynchon,  Jr.,  James 
Sikes,  Dea.  Nathaniel  Brewer,  and  John  Hale.  There  was  further 
evidence  of  revolutionary  spirit  on  September  29,  when  Dr.  Charles 
Pynchon  of  this  town  and  John  Bliss  of  Wilbraham  were  selected 
as  representatives  of  the  General  Court  appointed  to  meet  at  Salem 
October  5,  and  Capt.  George  Pynchon  and  Jonathan  Hale,  Jr., 
were  chosen  delegates  to  the  Provincial  Congress  October  2. 

It  may  be  well  asked  what  had  become  of  the  famous  John  Worth- 
ington?  Was  he  making  the  town-house  vocal  with  his  appeals  for 
the  American  colonies,  as  was  his  brother  in  the  law,  Joseph  Hawle}^, 
of  Northampton  ?  Did  he  lend  his  voice  to  the  resolutions  sent  to 
Boston?  Alas  !  John  Worthington  was  at  odds  with  the  town  and 
the  commonwealth,  and  had  resolved  to  step  down  and  out.  He  be- 
lieved in  royalty,  and  he  knew  no  public  interests  but  those  for  which 
he  had  taken  his  solemn   oath.      ''  Adamses,  where  are  you  going?" 


278  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6. 

fiercely  demanded  the  imperious  colonel  of  John  and  Samuel  Adams 
in  Springfield,  as  they  were  on  their  way  to  the  Continental  Con- 
gress. ''  To  Philadelphia,  to  declare  these  colonies  free,"  was  the 
reply.  Worthington  said,  ''  Gentlemen,  beware  !  Look  out  for  your 
heads  !  "  Worthington  himself  went  to  Philadelpliia  soon  after,  to  save 
his  own  head.  Finding  that  he  had  jumped  from  the  frying-pan  into 
the  fire,  he  was  on  the  point  of  sailing  for  Halifax,  but  was  dissuaded 
by  Moses  Bliss.  This  was,  indeed,  a  great  change  from  the  time 
when  Capt.  Joseph  Ferre,  the  survivor  of  the  successive  funerals  of 
five  wives,  had  exclaimed,  *'  John  Worthington  rules  this  town  like  a 
rod  of  iron."  Worthington  was  eventually  compelled  to  make  a  state- 
ment in  town-meeting,  which  satisfied  the  people.  We  do  not  know 
how  true  it  is,  but  the  story  has  often  been  told  beside  Springfield 
firesides,  that  the  whigs  who  dominated  the  town  at  this  exciting 
time  were  so  outraged  at  the  refusal  of  John  Worthington  to  join 
them,  that  they  led  him  out  in  a  field,  formed  a  ring,  and  compelled 
him  to  kneel,  and  swear  before  God  that  he  would  renounce  his  tory 
views. 

There  was  a  John  Worthington  in  every  Massachusetts  town,  but 
the  spirit  of  1776,  as  we  recognize  it,  did  not  stand  on  ceremony. 
There  was  rough  work  ahead,  and  personal  dignity  and  private  opinion 
were  unceremoniously  brushed  aside.  It  is  due  to  Colonel  Worthing- 
ton to  record  that  he  advanced  money  for  arming  soldiers.  He  was 
not  reimbursed  for  these  expenditures  until  after  the  surrender  of 
Yorktown. 

Toryism  had  taken  a  deep  hold  of  several  Springfield  families  of  note. 
There  are  in  the  St.  John  (N.B.)  Cemetery  many  tombstones  bearing 
old  Springfield  famil}^  names,  —  a  curious  testimony  to  the  tenacity  of 
the  tory  spirit.  Among  those  who  finally  went  back  to  England  was 
Jonathan  Bliss,  brother  of  Luke  Bliss.  He  afterward  went  to  New 
Brunswick,  and  became  attorney-general  of  the  province,  as  well  as 
chief -justice.     His  wife  was  Mary,  daughter  of  John  Worthington. 

The  names  of  three  Pynchons  appear  on  the  committee   of  corre- 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  279 

sponclence,  and  a  fourth  Pynchon  was  town  treasurer.  There  was 
nothing  tory  about  this.  Jonathan  Hale  was  a  carpenter,  and  James 
Sikes,  like  all  of  the  family  of  that  name,  was  a  part  of  the  bone  and 
sinew  of  the  town. 

The  patriotism  of  the  Springfield  Pynchons  during  the  Revolution 
is  all  the  more  worthy  of  note  from  the  fact  that  in  Connecticut  and 
Eastern  Massachusetts  branches  of  the  family  were  tory  in  sentiment. 
In  fact,  AYilliam  Pynchon,  of  Salem,  and  Joseph  Pynchon,  of  Guil- 
ford, Conn.,  were  notorious  tories,  and  were  forced  to  leave  the  country 
in  consequence.  Joseph  Pynchon  might  have  been  Governor  of  Con- 
necticut if  his  political  views  had  not  led  to  his  self-banishment  to 
Nova  Scotia.  His  great-grandson  is  Dr.  Thomas  R.  Pynchon,  of 
Trinity  College,  Hartford. 

Merchant  Jonathan  Dwight,  at  the  first  echo  of  war,  made  his  plans 
to  leave  Springfield.  He  even  closed  his  store.  Hearing  a  rumor 
that  a  decree  had  gone  forth  from  Boston  for  the  seizure  of  his  goods, 
he  directed  his^lave  Andrew  to  drive  his  cattle  across  the  Connecti- 
cut line.  But  it  was  due  to  the  influence  of  his  wife  that  he  modified 
his  political  sentiments  and  reopened  his  store. 

In  January,  1775,  the  several  special  town-meetings  must  have 
been  intensely  interesting.  Capt.  George  and  Dr.  Charles  P^aichon 
and  Jonathan  Hale,  Jr.,  had  just  returned  from  the  Provincial  Con- 
gress, and  their  reports  of  the  doings  at  that  body  gave  the  yeomen 
of  the  community  the  first  definite  glimpse  of  the  great  struggle. 
Means  were  taken  to  aid  the  poor  at  Boston.  The  town  stock  of 
ammunition  was  materially  increased,  and  George  Pynchon  headed  a 
committee  which  recommended  tliat  the  provincial  tax  be  paid  into 
the  town  treasurer  and  held  "'  safe  during  this  time  of  General  Dis- 
tress &  Confusion."  An  association  had  been  formed  (1774)  pledg- 
ing the  members  not  to  wear  or  use  any  clothing  or  product  imported 
from  Great  Britain,  —  a  self-imposed  embargo  that  was  a  severe  test 
of  patriotism.  The  subsequent  exclusion  of  tea  from  the  table  was 
accepted  in  good  part  by  the  community,  although  we  do  have  it  by 


2«0  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

tradition  that  some  worthy  dames  of  Si)ring1ield  were  not  above 
steeping  tea  at  tlie  hour  of  midnight  and  (h'inking  it  in  the  sechision 
of  their  closets. 

At  the  spring  town-meeting  of  the  important  year  1775  the  fol- 
lowing town  officers  were  elected  :  — 

Mod''.  —  Mr.  James  Sikes  Avas  Cliosen  Moderator. 
,     (Uerk  &  Treas^  —  Edward  Pyjichoii  Esq''  was  Cliosen  Clerk  &  Treas''. 

Selectmen. — Deac"  Daniel  Harris,  Ens"  Phinehas  Chapin,  Mr  James  Sikes, 
Mr  William  Pynchon  Jian''  and  Deac"  Aaron  Colton  were  Chosen  Selectmen. 

Wardens.  —  Mr  Daniel  Lnmbard,  Mr  Nathaniel  Bnrt  &  Mr  Eleasar  Chapin 
were  Chosen  Wardens. 

Assess""*. — Mr  Jon'  Bnrt  Jun',  Deac"  Edward  Chapin  &  Mr  AVilliam  Pynchon 
Jun'  were  Chosen  Assessors. 

Consta**. — Stephen  Hitchcock,  Moses  Harris,  William  Stebhins  Jun^",  Henry 
Colton  &  Stephen  Wright  were  Chosen  Constables. 

Tythingraen. — Mr  Timothy  Bliss,  Ebenezer  Stebbins,  George  Colton  2d,  & 
Jonathan  Bement  were  Chosen  Tythingmen. 

Snrvs  of  Highways.  —  Andrew-  Colton,  Josiah  Hitchcock,  Aaron  Cooler, 
Hezekiah  Hale,  Silas  Hale,  Benoni  Chapin,  George  Chapin  &  Eliakim  Cooley 
were  Chosen  Surveyors  of  Highways. 

Fence  Viewers.  — Jacob  Cooley,  Joseph  Stebbins  Jun',  Festus  Colton.  Samuel 
Keep,  Ens"  Phin-  Chapin  &  William  Chapin  Jun'  Avere  Chosen  Fence  ^"iewers. 

Surv^s  of  Ching'^  &  Clapb^  —  L^  Abner  Smith,  Pliinehas  Chapin  Jun'  &  David 
Wliite  were  Choseji  Surveyors  of  Shingles  &  Clapboards. 

Hogg  Rieves. — Matthew  Keep,  Edward  Crandell.  John  Clark  &  Abijah  Edson 
were  Chosen  Hogg  Rieves. 

Deer  Rieves.  —  Nath.aniel  Alexander  &  Elijah  Burt  were  Chosen  Deer  Rieves. 

Sealers  of  Leather.  —  Samuel  Gridley  &  Jonathan  Stebbins  were  Chosen 
Sealers  of  Leather. 

Com^^  to  adjust  ac'Mvith  ye  Treas". — Mr  Reuben  Bliss,  Mr.  Luke  Bliss  and 
Mr  Jonathan  Dwight  were  Chosen  a  Committee  to  adjust  acc*^  with  the  Town 
Treas'. 

Bull  Com*^^*^.  —  Mr  John  Warner,  Mr  Thomas  Stebbins,  Mr  Josiah  Cooley, 
Mr  Samuel  Keep,  Mr  Silas  Hale,  Deac"  Edward  Chapin,  Mr  Azariah  Yanhorn 
&  Mr  John'  Horton,  Were  Chosen  a  Committee  to  Hire  Bulls  for  the  use  of  v^' 
Town. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-lSSa.  281 

The  Boston  alarm  of  September,  1774,  had  set  over  forty  thousand 
soldiers  all  through  New  England  on  the  march  for  the  day  as  promptly 
as  might  have  been  the  case  in  our  days  of  telegraph.  But  even 
more  marvellous  was  the  speed  with  which  the  news  of  the  battle  of 
Lexington  the  next  year  got  to  the  Connecticut  river.  The  British 
soldiers  left  Boston  before  daybreak  on  the  19th  of  April,  1775,  and 
on  the  20th  Capt.  Elihu  Kent,  within  an  hour's  notice,  was  at  the  head 
of  a  SufHeld  company  of  fifty-nine  men  and  a  provision  wagon,  rush- 
ing for  Springfield,  where  they  took  supper  and  pressed  on  at  once. 

Each  Springfield  soldier  was  given  one-half  pound  of  powder. 
There  were  also  delivered  to  the  companies  here  assembled  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  flints. 

A  Longmeadow  company,  commanded  by  Lieut.  David  Burt, 
started  east  on  the  21st.  When  the  Suflfleld  company  reached 
Springfield,  on  the  20th,  they  found  the  Springfield  minute-men,  under 
Maj.  Andrew  Colton,  a  West  Springfield  company  commanded  by 
Capt.  Enoch  Chapin,  and  a  second  West  Springfield  compan}^  under 
Colton,  with  Gideon  Burt  first  lieutenant,  and  probably  the  South- 
wick  contingent.  The  Springfield  taverns  and  the  streets  were  in  a 
perfect  uproar,  and  during  the  20th  and  21st  soldiers  were  con- 
stantly forwarded.  The  British  troops  had  left  Boston  to  the  tune 
of  '"Yankee  Doodle."  In  twenty-four  hours  it  was  the  other  army  that 
was  playing  that  tune.  Springfield  had  been  busy  for  months  col- 
lecting arms  and  drilling  men.  In  March  the  selectmen  had  given 
an  order  on  Treasurer  Edward  Pynchon  to  pay  moneys  as  follows  : 
Horace  White  for  2.)  gun  barrels,  £35  ;  to  Martin  EI3''  for  2^  gun 
locks,  £25  ;  Reuben  Bliss  for  stocking  25  guns,  chest  for  same,  etc., 
£7-19-6.  The  town  had  under  its  care  also  sundry  of  the  poor  of 
Boston  sent  into  the  back  country.  Widow  Davis,  for  example, 
'•one  of  the  Dispersed  of  Boston,"  was  given  aid,  and  the  treasurer 
paid  "  To  Moses  Bliss  Esq.  for  a  Horse  &  Chaise  to  transport  of  the 
Dispersed  of  Boston  to  Wilbraham,  4s  4f^"  Erom  the  expense 
account  are  taken  the  following  items  :  — 


282  SPRINGFIELD,     16S6-1886. 


To  Arriel  Collins  for  48  Cartouch  Boxes,  1-  1-G 
To  Tho'  Bates  for  a  Gunn  &  Bayonett,  2-10-0 
To  Luke  Bliss  for  a  Gunu  &  Bayonett,  2-  8-0 
To  Widow  Silence  Bliss  for  a  Gunn,  2-  5-0 
To  Capt"  Tho.  Stebbins  for  the  use  of  a  Gunn,  6-0 
To  Tim'^  Bliss  for  a  Large  Home  spun  Blankett,  15-0 
To  John  Burt  for  a  Blankett,  9-0 
To  Oliver  Burt  for  a  Gunn  Jy^  Silvanus  Hale,  2-  0-0 
To  John  Warner  Jun.  for  Excers'ing  as  a  minute  man,  9-2 
To  Seth  Storer  Coburn  for  a  liorse  to  assist  the  minute  men  Avhen  they 
marched   from  this  Town  to  Head  quarters  near  Boston  in  April 
1775,  12-0 
To  George  Colton  Jun.   for  a  Blankett  »&  knappsech   Del"!  Benoni  Bar- 
rister, lo-t> 
Drums  for  the  companies,  ^__     8-  0-0 


Springfield  miniite-meu  marched  under  Maj.  Andrew  Colton.  The 
following  company,  which  left  Springfield  April  20,  1775,  was  in  ser- 
vice as  a  distinct  company  but  one  week  and  three  days  :  — 

Gideon  Burt,  1st  Lieut.,  Walter  Pynchon,  2d  Lieut.,  Aaron  St^el,  ser- 
geant, William  White,  sergeant,  Ambrose  Collins,  corporal,  Luther  Hitchcock, 
corporal,  William  Colton,  3d,  fifer,  David  Justus  Chapin,  fifer,  Lewis  Chapin, 
Drummer,  Jeduthan  Sanderson,  "  centinel,"  Israel  Chapin,  Samuel  Gridley, 
Alexander  Bliss,  Aaron  Parsons,  Jr.,  Aaron  Ferry,  Gad  Horton,  Samuel  Bliss, 
James  Nash,  Abel  Hancock,  Geo.  Wright,  Jr.,  Matthew  Lancton,  Peter  Colton, 
Jno.  Stedman,  Abner  Russell,  Asahel  Cooley,  Jno.  Warner,  Jr.,  Justin  Smith, 
Samuel  Edson,  Patrick  Nugent,  Benjamin  Parsons,  Jonathan  Ingersoll,  Calvin 
Bliss,  Henry  Stiles,  Luther  Colton,  Abner  Cooley,  Lemuel  Parsons,  Noah  Bliss, 
Joseph  King,  Caleb  Cooley,  Zadock  Bliss,  Ebenezer  Romerill,  James  Taylor, 
Spencer  Merrick,  Sylvanus  Hale,  Moses  Bliss,  and  Joseph  Parsons. 


Here  is  the  muster-roll  of  the  minute-men  under  Lieut.  David  Burt, 
of  Longmeadow,  and  Lieut.  Jonathan  Hale,  who  "marched  in  order 
to  assist  our  Brethren  at  Lexinoton  :  "  — 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  283 

Ebenezer  Colton,  Samuel  Keep,  Nathaniel  Ely,  Josiah  Cooley,  Abner  Colton, 
John  Colton,  Ebenezer  Bliss,  Jr.,  Aaron  Bliss,  Samuel  Smith,  David  White,  John 
Ashley,  Elijah  Burt,  Richard  Woohvorth,  Oliver  King,  Nehemiah  Rumrill, 
Thomas  Stebbins,  Samuel  Morgan,  James  Parker,  Gad  Lamb,  Ebenezer  Steb- 
bins,  and  Samuel  Burt. 

Other  men  from  this  region  who  marched  east  on  April  20  were 
Solomon  Brewer,  Jonathan  Colton,  Thomas  Bates,  Matthew  Keep, 
Benjamin  Colton,  Jr.,  Abijah  Edsou,  Jno.  Burt,  Jr.,  Jacob  Kellogg, 
Moses  Harris,  Josh.  Kellogg,  Jr.,  Oliver  Burt,  Robert  Stevens,  Jacob 
Chapin,  Oliver  Field,  P^leazer  Chapin,  Jr.,  Medad  Stebbins,  Jonah 
Coole}',  Simon  Moore,  Thos.  Hale,  Jr.,  Seth  Storer  Coburn. 

Jeduthan  Sanderson,  father  of  the  venerable  Harvey  Sanderson, 
still  living,  wrote  his  father,  Medad  Sanderson,  the  following  letter, 
which  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Maj.  C.  P.  Nichols  of  this  cit}^ :  — 

RoxBURY,  June  29^^^  1775 

HoNORiD  Father  ater  my  regards  to  you  i  take  this  opertunity  to  let  you  no 
that  i  am  Well  as  i  hope  that  these  lines  will  find  you  and  all  ray  Brothers  and 
Sisters  i  have  Some  news  to  rite  in  the  fust  place  their  was  a  [word  omitted] 
between  Charlstown  and  Cambridg  and  the  Kings  troops  drove  our  men  out  of  their 
intrenchment  Becaus  they  had  no  powder  and  they  have  burnt  Cliarlstown  and  have 
intrenched  on  Buncors  hill  and  our  men  Have  intfencht  on  winter  hill  wheir  the 
regulers  retreeted  to  Avhen  the  fust  battle  Was  at  Concort  which  was  June  16"^ 
they  fired  the  same  day  att  roxbury  and  threw  Bums  And  Carkeses  in  order  to 
Set  the  street  on  fire  but  by  the  goodness  of  god  they  did  not  for  Our  men  as 
Soon  as  they  had  Set  it  a  fire  would  go  and  put  it  out  and  they  fired  No  more 
untill  last  Saterday  then  thay  fired  again  and  tried  to  Set  it  on  fire  But  they 
would  go  and  put  it  out  one  of  our  men  tuk  one  of  the  Carkises  and  Brot  it  up 
to  the  general  before  it  Avent  out  and  they  set  2  or  3  houses  afire  But  they  ware 
as  Ferce  as  a  bludhown  to  put  them  out  then  the  Rodeilanders  went  down  on  the 
neck  with  2  or  3  feild  peses  and  fired  att  them  and  made  their  Sentrys  run  to  the 
brestwork  and  then  they  fired  upon  our  Sentry  and  kiled  two  of  them  We  are 
Building  a  fort  in  Roxbury  and  diging  a  trench  a  Crost  the  neck  No  more  att 
present  So  i  reman e  your  obdiant  son 

Jeduthan  Saxdersox, 


284  SPRINGFIELD,    163G-18S6. 

Ill  June,  1775,  Dr.  Benjamin  Cliurcli,  Jr.,  of  Boston,  and  Moses 
Gill,  of  Princeton,  met  Washington  and  Lee  in  this  town,  at  the  old 
tavern  on  Elm  street,  in  their  progress  to  Boston,  where  the  father  of 
his  countr}^  was  to  take  command.  A  company  of  horse  accompanied 
the  party  to  Brooktield,  where  local  soldiery  did  escort  dut}^  to 
Worcester. 

Later  in  the  year  177")  many  enlistments  of  Springfield  men  are 
recorded.  The}^  scattered  about  in  various  regiments.  In  October 
Capt.  Isaac  Colton  was  encamped  at  Eoxbury  (Col.  David  Brewer's 
regiment)  with  the  following:  Lieut.  Nathaniel  Alexander,  Corporal 
David  Miirphey,  Corporal  Mose  Wait,  Drummer  Benjamin  Colton, 
Ely  Barrister,  Stephen  Hunt,  James  Ives,  William  Hancock,  Abel 
Hancock,  Thomas  Ferre,  Elijah  Hancock,  Joseph  Parsons^,  James 
Parker,  Ebenezer  Edd}^,  and  Moses  Wait.  David  Lancton  had  be- 
come a  drummer  in  the  8th  Massachusetts,  and  with  Captain  Longley 
(Colonel  Whitcomb)  were  David  Powers,  Solon  Stephens,  Asahel 
Stebbins,  and  Samuel  Remington. 

In  Capt.  Gideon  Burt's  company  (Col.  Timoth}^  Danielson's  regi- 
ment) w^ere  the  following  Springfield  men,  who  enlisted  April  24, 
1775,  for  three  and  a  half  months  :  — 

Gideon  Biirt,  captam ;  Waker  Pynchon,  first  fieutenant :  Aaron  Steel,  second 
Heutenant;  WiUiara  White,  Samuel  Gridley,  Ambros  Collins,  and  Aaron  Parsons, 
sergeants;  Luther  Hitchcock,  corporal;  Simon  Moore,  Samuel  Bliss,  Samuel 
Edson,  Luis  Chapin,  William  Colton,  Spencer  Mirick,  Nathan  Bliss,  Caleb 
Cooley,  Lemuel  Parsons,  Justin  Smith,  Aaron  Ferry,  Beriah  Jennings,  Benjamin 
Parsons,  Jeduthan  Sanderson,  Matthias  Lankton,  Noah  Bliss,  Able  Hancock. 
James  Taylor,  Jabez  Cooley,  Stephen  Kussell,  Theodore  Smith,  Frederick  Col- 
ton, Ebenezer  Puinrill.  Abner  Cooley.  Justis  Moore.  Abner  Russell,  Benjamin 
Howard,  Elihu  Colton,  Jacob  Ward,  Henry  Stiles.  Silvanus  Hale,  Moses  Bedeu- 
nah,  Luther  Colton,  Josejjh  King,  Calvin  Bliss.  Benoni  Banister,  Joseph  Chapin, 
John  Hendrick,  Robert  Stephens.  David  Chapin,  Zadocli  Bliss,  Patrick  Nugent, 
George  Wright,  James  Nash,  Arthur  Hitchcock,  Jonas  Christian,  Luther  Colton, 
Moses  Bliss,  Jonathan  IngersoU,  John  Stedman,  Peter  Coutson,  and  Ebenezer 
Martin. 


SPRING  FIEL  D,    1 636-1 SS  6. 


285 


]ylany  of  these  men  were  titled  out  by  well-to-do  citizeus,  such  as 
Abner  Cooley,  Ebenezer  Coltou,  Israel  Chapln,  John  Worthington, 
Richard  Woolworth,  Aaron  Colton,  Josiah  Chapin,  Charles  Pynchon, 
James  Sikes,  Daniel  Chandler,  David  Burt,  Stephen  Colton,  Phiueas 


Parsons  Tavern,  1776. 


Stedman,  Jedediah  Bliss,  George  Colton,  George  Chapin,  Zachariah 
Hale,  Samuel  BKss,  Aaron  Warriner,  Joseph  Stebbins,  Justice  Steel, 
and  Luke  Bliss. 

John  Hale  and  William  Pynchon,  Jr.,  were  chosen  representatives 
to  the  General  Court  in  July,  and  in  November  Thomas  Stebbins, 
Jonathan  Hale,  Jr.,  Reuben  Bliss,  William  Pynchon,  Jr.,  and  Dea. 
Edward  Chapin  were  chosen  to  "  take  into  C^onsideration  the  charge 
of  Providing  for  the  Souldiers  and  the  pay  of  the  minitmen."    A  com- 


28^  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-188  6. 


paiiy  of  Highlanders  was  billeted  in  Springfield  from  June,  1776,  to 
the  March  following,  and  in  July,  1777,  Colonel  Cheever  had  charge 
of  the  transfer  of  army  supplies  to  Springfield,  where  it  had  been  de- 
cided to  establish  an  arsenal  and  supply  depot.  P^rom  the  town  ac- 
counts it  appears  that  he  made  large  use  of  the  local  horses  and 
wagons  in  this  business. 

We  have  the  voice  of  tradition  that  the  news  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  set  the  village  aglow  with  enthusiasm.     Moses  Bliss,  it 
is  related,  was  coming  from   West  Springfield  with   a  load  of  hay 
when  the  good  tidings  met  him,  and   he  at  once   touched   a   light  to 
the  hay  as  the   most   ready  way   of  expressing  his   delight.      It  is  a 
thankless  task  to  combat  a  pleasing  tradition,  and  it  would,  indeed, 
be  a  misfortune  to  unnecessarily  put  out  this  little  torch  of  patriotism 
that  has  so  long  flickered  before  our  local  firesides.    There  are  doubts, 
however.     Moses  Bliss  was  not  a  man  to  be  driving   a  team  with  a 
load  of  hay,  in  the  first  place  ;  and  a  very  fair  chain  of  circumstantial 
eWdence  could  be  constructed  to  nail  such  a  denial  to  the  wall.    John 
Worthington's  toryism  is  beyond  dispute  ;  up  to  the  Revolution  both 
he  and  Moses  Bliss  were  active  in  town,  and  even   state,  affairs  ;  but 
when  Worthington's  disapproval  of  a  revolt   from  the   authority    of 
King  George  found  expression  in  a  retirement  to  private   life,  Moses 
Bliss  followed  his  example,  and  aside  from  furnishing  an  occasional 
vehicle  or  blanket  or  brass  kettle  for  the  soldiers,  his  war  energies 
slept  profoundly.     His  name  almost  disappears  from  the  town-meet- 
ing records,  and  when  it  does  rise  to  the  surface  it  is  but  a  reminder 
of  a  very  noteworthy  silence.     In  other  words,  if  Moses  Bliss  had 
been  a  toi'y,  he  would  have  acted  precisely  as  he  did. 

At  the  annual  March  election  of  1776  Edward  Pynchon  declined 
reelection  as  town  clerk,  a  position  he  had  held  for  so  many  years, 
and  this  office  was  passed  down  to  William  Pynchon,  Jr.  The  town 
did  a  very  unusual  thing  in  spreading  upon  the  records  a  vote  of 
thanks  to  Edward  Pynchon  for  his  services  as  town  clerk.  The 
selectmen  in  this   eventful   year  were  ;     Dea.    Aaron   Colton,   James 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6.  287 


Sikes,  Dr.  Edward  Cliapin,  Daniel  Harris,  and  AYilliam  Pynchon,  Jr. 
The  committee  of  safety  consisted  of  Ephraim  Chapin,  Ensign  Phineas 
Chapin,  Moses  Field,  Daniel  Burt,  3d,  Moses  Church,  Capt.  Thomas 
Stebbins,  Joseph  Stebbins,  Thomas  Stebbins,  Jr.,  John  Pynchon,  and 
Joseph  Ferre. 

The  town-meetings  in  those  trying  days  were  held  in  the  court- 
house. The  names  prominent  in  the  doings  at  that  time  were  not  the 
best-known  Springfield  names,  unless  we  except  the  Pynchons.  This 
latter  name  came  well  to  the  front  in  the  hour  of  peril.  Take  the  year 
1777.  We  find  Edward  Pynchon  moderator  ;  Maj.  William  Pynchon 
was  chosen  representative  that  year  ;  William  Pynchon,  Jr.,  was  town 
clerk  ;  Edward  Pynchon  was  treasurer  ;  William  Pynchon,  Jr.,  was  on 
the  select  board;  William  Pynchon,  Jr.,  was  an  assessor;  and  John 
Pynchon  a  constable,  as  well  as  a  member  of  the  committee  of  safety. 
Here  are  seven  prominent  positions  held  by  four  Pynchons. 

In  February,  1777,  town  committees  of  safety  met  at  Northamp- 
ton, Robert  Breck,  clerk.  Arrangements  were  made  for  sending 
supplies  to  the  army.  The  convention  (Northampton,  1777)  called 
attention  to  the  "conduct  of  inimicable  persons"  of  the  county 
who  were  '^  daily  increasing,"  and  declaring  that  the  selectmen  of 
the  various  towns  '^  dare  as  well  be  damned  as  to  draught  them  for 
the  army,  and  that  if  they  were  draughted,  they  would  rather  fight 
against  our  own  men  than  against  our  enemies." 

The  town  had  also  not  forgotten  the  general  concerns  of  the  coun- 
try, and  at  the  close  of  the  year  1777  Dea.  Nathaniel  Brewer  headed 
the  committee  on  the  proposed  articles  of  confederation  among  the 
States.  A  committee  dealing  with  such  a  weighty  matter  of  states- 
manship, headed  by  a  deacon,  with  a  captain  and  a  physician,  making 
a  quorum,  felt  a  becoming  embarrassment  as  long  as  two  of  the  best 
lawyers  of  the  State  were  in  Springfield.  It  is,  therefore,  not  sur- 
prising that  they  were  applicants  for  some  legal  assistance.  The 
town  added  the  names  of  Worthington  and  Bliss  to  the  committee, 
but  both  hnmediately  declined  to  serve,  and  so  another  deacon  was 


288  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


selected.  We  canuot  see  wli}^  this  does  not  throw  a  cloud  over  the 
politics   of  Moses  Bliss,  at  least  at  tliis  early  day. 

But  want  of  a  professionall}'  legal  hand  to  indict  the  document 
did  not  stay  the  arm  of  the  town.  That  la3nnan'8  committee  had  the 
spirit  that  broke  through  the  embarrassments  of  a  leaderless  com- 
munity and  led  it  to  spread  its  judgment  and  devotion  before  the 
world.  It  was  in  February,  1778,  when  the  town  representatives 
received  their  instructions. 

Tlie}^  wei-e  told  that  the  subject  was  the  "•  most  interesting  matter 
that  was  ever,  or  perhaps  ever  will  be  referred  to  yonr  Deliberation," 
—  tlie  proposed  "perpetual  union  of  the  thirteen  United  States  of 
America."  The}^  were  reminded  that  "  the  plaiijof  Union  laid  before 
you  is  not  to  be  Temporary  but  perpetual,  and  is  so  framed  that 
being  once  satisfied  it  is  no  more  to  be  altered  without  universal  Con- 
sent." "An  inquiry,"  continues  this  remarkable  report,  "by  what 
unhappy  defect  or  error  in  the  Inherent  Constitution  of  most  of  the 
nations  of  P^urope  (not  excepting  those  who  have  Bled  for  the  defense 
of  Liberty)  are  now  fallen  under  so  Despotic  and  Arbitrary  gov- 
ernment, might  aid  you  in  forming  a  Judgment  of  the  Good  or  111 
tendency  of  the  proposed  Confederation.  ...  It  cannot  be  ex- 
pected that  we  the  Inhabitants  of  this  Town,  many  of  whom  have 
little  leisure  for  Politicall  speculation  should  be  so  capable  of  Judgeing 
in  a  matter  of  this  intricate  nature  as  you  are  whom  we  have  chosen 
to  represent  us.  We  must  confide  much  in  you  and  your  associates 
The  representation  in  Congress  appears  to  Us  too  unequal. 
Why  may  it  not  be  proportioned  to  the  taxation?  To  the  unequal 
representation  in  parliament  have  been  imputed  more  of  our  late 
oppressions.  ...  A  Constitution  Gentlemen  should  be  formed 
upon  a  supposition  that  it  may  in  some  future  period  be  admin- 
istered by  Designing  men.  What  has  happened  in  Europe  may 
happen  in  America.  How  easy  it  is  for  those  who  have  the  forces 
and  money  of  the  people  in  their  own  hands  to  Subvert  a  Constitu- 
tion and  establish  themselves  in  Power.     We  rather  choose  that  the 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  289 

Congress  should  only  ascertain  and  proportion  the  sums  necessar}^ 
for  the  Publick  service  &  Lay  the  estimate  before  the  several  Legis- 
latures &  that  the  Legislatures  make  grants  for  the  supply  of  the 
Continental  Treasury." 

In  April,  1777,  two  battalions  from  Hampshire  county  were  ordered 
to  Ticonderoga.  Soldiers  were  forw^arded  from  Springfield  in  short 
order,  their  families  being  placed  under  the  special  care  of  the  town. 
Capt.  Gideon  Burt  with  Lieut.  Ebenezer  Coltou  (Col.  David  Seward's 
regiment)  made  the  forced  march  from  Springfield  to  Ticonderoga. 
The  Springfield  men  accompanying  them  were  Samuel  Gridley,  Jona- 
than Burt,  Ambrose  Collins,  Ebenezer  Morgan,  Ephraim  Brown, 
Thomas  Colton,  Ebenezer  Rumrill,  George  Cooley,  Eestus  Colton, 
Simeon  Colton,  Samuel  Keep,  Henry  Colton,  P^zra  Stebbins,  Will- 
iam Hunt,  O.  Hitchcock,  .leduthan  Sanderson,  Daniel  Bliss,  Luther 
Vanhorn,  Ephraim  Chapiu,  and  Japhet  Chapin. 

The  nine-months'  men  drafted  and  sent  from  Springfield  to  Fishkill 
in  1778  were  :  — 

William  Hitchcock,  Justin  Smith,  Austin  Brooks,  David  Bonner, 
James  Mills,  Israel  Bond,  Martin  Smith,  Ezekiel  Chapin,  Leba  Bel- 
man,  Abel  Coburn,  Jabez  Crosby,  Abner  Russell,  and  Daniel  Hancock. 
In  Captain  Rowle's  company  (Col.  John  Jacob's  regiment)  were  the 
following  Springfield  men  in  1778  :  Capt.  Nathan  Rowle,  Lieut.  Enoch 
Leonard,  P^benezer  Bliss,  Ebenezer  Pumery,  Simeon  Colton,  Oliver 
Hitchcock,  A.  Stephenson,  Jonathan  Stephenson,  William  Pepper, 
Gad  Warriner,  Timothy  Hopkins,  George  Blake,  Russel  AUin,  and 
James  Howard.  In  1778,  in  Capt.  Phineas  Stebbins's  company 
(Col.  N.  Sparhawk's  regiment)  were  these  Springfield  men :  Na- 
than Chapiu,  sergeant ;  Rubin  Ferre,  John  Ferre,  William  White, 
Moses  Barber,  and  Moses  Stebbins. 

During  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1780  there  were  gathered  at 
Springfield  forty-three  divisions  of  six-months'  men,  who  marched 
from  here  as  fast  as  they  were  ready  for  service.  This  was  in  accord- 
ance with  a  resolution  of  the  General  Court  passed  in  June.     In  the 


290  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

list  was  Capt.  Daniel  Shays,  who  commanded  the  tenth  division. 
General  Grover  was  the  officer  in  command. 

Here  are  Springfield's  six-months'  men  who  joined  the  army  in 
1780:  — 

William  Hitchcock,  Elias  Hitchcock,  Amaziah  Sanderson,  Noah 
Frost,  Aaron  Parsons,  Alexander  P21y,  Gad  Bliss,  Moses  Bliss,  Jr., 
David  Bannon,  John  Morgan,  Thaddeus  Ferre,  George  Smith,  Oliver 
Field,  Zachariah  Hancock,  Oliver  Hancock,  Jonathan  Stephenson, 
Solomon  Loomis,  Gideon  Cooley,  Joshua  Brooks,  1.  Chandler,  AVilliam 
Hancock,  David  Hubbard,  Joseph  McGreney. 

Springfield  had,  in  1780,  three-mouths' men  in  Capt.  Joseph  Brown- 
ing's company  (Colonel  Murry's  regiment),  as  follows:  Isaac  Steb- 
bins,  Lieut.  John  Colton,  A.  Brooks,  Corp.  Nenoni  Chapirr,  Marsh 
Bissell,  Consider  Bement,  Luther  Smith,  Moses  Parsons,  Jonathan 
Felt,  Moses  Hancock,  Beriah  Howard,  Justin  Bliss,  Zenas  Bliss, 
Samuel  Sikes,  Isaac  Bliss. 

We  find  that  there  were,  in  June,  1781,  seventeen  Springfield  men 
in  the  Continental  army  who  had  enlisted  for  three  years,  or  during  the 
war,  as  follows  :  — 


When  Eu listed. 

Regiment. 

David  Day, 

Jan..      "80. 

od  Mass. 

John  Stevenson, 

April,    79, 

- 

John  Pease, 

April,    79, 

" 

Samuel  Edson, 

Dec,     76, 

11 

Joseph  Chapin, 

Nov.      '76, 

li 

James  Warner, 

Ai)ril,    79, 

" 

Zachariah  Warner. 

March,  79, 

" 

Corporal  Gideon  Jones, 

Nov.,     79, 

■ith  Mass. 

Simon  Johnson, 

Dec,     76, 

" 

Daniel  Stephenson, 

77, 

" 

James  Mills, 

June,     78, 

5th  Mass. 

Joseph  Maxfield, 

Jan.,      79, 

6th  Mass. 

Loyal  Sanderson, 

Nov.,     79, 

" 

Asabel  Mighel, 

March,  77, 

7th  Mass. 

SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  291 


When  Enlisted. 

Regiment. 

May,      '79, 

7th  Mass, 

Dec,     76, 

" 

April,     79, 

Theodore  Smith, 
Samuel  Stebbins, 
Henry  Stiles, 


Other  three-years'  soldiers  during-  1781  appear  upon  the  records,  as 

follows :    Wait,    farmer ;    Sutton,    weaver ;    

Pooly,  farmer  ;  Alpheus  Hancock,  farmer  ;  Jonathan  Cooley,  farmer  ; 
Caleb  Williston,  farmer;  Hanon  Colton,  farmer;  Alplieus  Colton, 
farmer ;  Jacob  Hills,  wheelwright ;  Joshua  Brooks,  farmer  ;  James 
Reed,  farmer  ;  Joseph  Dunham,  farmer  ;  Titus  AVelch,  farmer  ;  Dan- 
iel Murphy,  blacksmith :  James  Eaton,  blacksmith ;  John  Fox,  far- 
mer ;  George  Smith,  shoemaker ;  Micah  Grant,  farmer. 

It  cost  the  town  £750,  in  1778,  to  raise  and  forward  thirteen  men  to 
the  seat  of  war ;  but  somehow  the  persons  intrusted  with  the  care  of 
soldiers'  families  failed  to  do  their  duty,  and  the  selectmen  were  given 
charge  of  this  matter.  This  board  consisted  of  William  Pynchon,  Jr., 
Dr.  Edward  Chapin,  Capt.  David  Burt,  Capt.  Thomas  Stebbins,  Ensign 
Phineas  Chapin.  It  took  £21, GOO  of  depreciated  paper  mone}^  to  fill 
the  town's  quota  of  men  in  1780.  In  March  of  that  year  Capt,  James 
Sikes  headed  a  committee  to  inquire  into  the  state  of  the  town's  militia, 
and  to  inquire  ' '  how  and  by  what  means  the  s*^  Town  have  incurred 
the  fine  set  upon  them  in  the  last  Tax  Acts  and  also  to  Inquire  w  hether 
the  money  received  by  the  Militia  officers  in  Consequence  of  Drafts  or 
by  Subscriptions  has  been  appropriated  for  the  purposes  for  which 
designed."  There  are  stray  reports  in  the  old  packages  of  documents 
preserved  which  seem  to  be  the  outcome  of  this  resolution.  Thus  we 
have  payments  to  soldiers  dated  three  months  later,  as  follows  :  — 

To  David  Bonner,  $660 ;  AVm.  Hitchcock,  $200 ;  Alexander  Ely,  $100 ;  Jona- 
than Stevenson,  $60;  Z.  Hancock,  $60;  Aaron  Parsons,  3d,  $1,000;  Moses  Bliss, 
Jr.,  $1,000;  Amaziah  Sanderson,  $850;  Aaron  Parsons,  3d,  $200;  Z.  Hancock, 
$358  ;  Thaddeus  Ferre,  $100 ;  Noah  Frost,  $120 ;  George  Smith,  $100 ;  G.  Bliss, 
$536;  Noah  Frost,  $100;   Oliver  Field,  $2;   Moses  Bliss,  $120;  Oliver  Hancock, 


292  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


$1,400;  J.  Stephenson,  $62;  Noah  Frost,  8500;  Samuel  Sikes,  880;  Moses  Par- 
sons, 8150;  Marsh  Bissel,  81?280;  Consider  Bement,  $1,280;  Benoni  Chapin,  Jr., 
$1,280;  Luther  Smith,  $1,280;  Moses  Hancock,  $1,280;  John  Baxter,  $200; 
Beriah  Howard,  $370;  Jonathan  Felt,  8350;  H.  Brooks.  $300;  Noah  Warner, 
$1,280;  Zenas  BHss,  $1,280;  Justin  BUss,  $1,280. 


Here  is  a  short  list,  endorsed:  "  Return  of  the  Mens  Names  & 
the  Sums  of  hire  Each  Man  has  Received  in  the  Continental  Service 
in  the  fourth  Compan}^  of  foot  in  Springfield  Com''  by  Cap^  Ephram 
Chapin  :  —  John  Frink,  £(>  ;  Thomas  Frink,  £12  ;  George  Chapin,  £6  ; 
Joseph  Chapin,  £3  ;  Paul  Chapin,  £3  ;  Justus  Moore,  £12  ;  Simon 
Moore,  £12."  In  1781  there  seems  to  liave  been  some  contention 
about  the  beef  quota,  and  after  several  adjournments  it  was  agreed 
(February  5)  that  the  appropriation  be  raised.  A  montli  later  the 
poll-tax  of  those  in  the  army  was  remitted. 

In  May,  1777,  the  General  Court  recommended  the  towns  to 
authorize  the  next  Legislature  to  frame  a  constitution  for  popular 
adoption.  The  towns  agreed.  Accordingly,  in  Februar}^,  1778,  the 
General  Court,  sitting  as  such  a  convention,  drew  up  a  constitution; 
but  it  was  rejected  b}^  a  large  majorit}^  both  on  account  of  the  in- 
strument itself  and  the  bod}'  framing  it,  —  assuming,  as  it  did,  both 
legislative  and  constitutional  functions.  After  due  formalities  the 
Legislature  provided  (June,  1779)  for  the  assembling  of  another  con- 
vention which  latter  adopted  both  a  constitution  and  a  bill  of  rights 
in  March,  1780,  and  tliis  was  ratified  by  the  people.  This  constitu- 
tion was  declared  the  fundamental  law  in  June  IG,  1780. 

The  representatives  of  1776  were  Dea.  Edward  Chapin,  Moses 
Field,  and  Maj.  William  Pynchou,  Jr.,  as  we  have  seen.  The  fol- 
lowing year  Maj.  William  Pynchou,  ]Mr.  Hale,  and  Dea.  Edward 
Chapin  went  down  to  the  Bay.  Luke  Bliss  and  AVilliam  Pynchou, 
Jr.,  were  there  in  1778,  tmd  Col.  Jonathan  Hale,  Jr.,  was  substituted 
for  Bliss  in  1779.  There  was  trouble  the  next  year,  probably  on 
account  of  differences  of  opinion  as  to  the  State  constitution.   Pynchou 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  293 

and  Iliile  had  been  reelected  :  Pynclion  declined  ;  Luke  Bliss  was  then 
chosen,  but  declined,  and  finally  Thomas  AYilliston  was  pitched  upon, 
and  stood,  though  not  until  he  too  had  tried  to  avoid  the  service.  In 
the  autumn  Dr.  C'hauncey  Brewer  was  chosen  representative,  and 
after  he  had  declined,  the  town  in  November  refused  to  fill  his  place. 
The  year  1781  found  AVilliston  and  Gideon  Burt  in  the  General  Court. 
By  this  time  was  o]:)servable  a  distinct  reaction,  as  ancient  Springfield 
seemed  almost  l)ent  upon  a  reminiscence,  by  calling  once  more  upon 
John  Worthington  to  go  down  to  Boston.  He  refused  to  obey  the 
summons  ;  so  did  Dr.  Chaunce}^  Brewer ;  and  Col.  Gideon  Burt  and 
Moses  Church  were  chosen  by  a  vote  of  128  to  2.  William  Pynchon 
was  chosen  to  carry  the  objections  to  the  Bay. 

But  it  was  too  late.  The  convention  had  been  adopted,  and  the 
election,  under  the  new  constitution,  resulted  in  Springfield  as  fol- 
lows :  "  The  votes  for  a  Governor  were  brought  in  at  s'd  meeting 
&  it  appeared  that  the  Hon'''''  John  Hancock  Esq""  had  102  out  of  113 
Votes:  The  Hon''''^  James  Bodoin  Esq--  10  out  of  113;  Mr.  Reuben 
Bliss  one  out  of  the  same  number." 

AVe  cannot  but  think  that  Air.  AVorthington  at  this  time  was  gain- 
ing a  new^  hold  upon  his  fellow-townsmen.  The  return  to  a  law-re- 
specting or  even  a  law-constructing  spirit  would  commend  itself  to 
his  legal  judgment.  He  acted  as  moderator  of  the  town-meeting  in 
March,  1782  ;  both  he  and  ^Moses  Bliss  received  stray  votes  for  State 
senator;  and  in  1783  Springfield's  vote  for  Governor  stood:  John 
Hancock,  50  ;  John  AA^orthington,  32  ;  James  Bowdoin,  7. 

But,  before  detailing  the  outcome  of  the  financial  distress  and  the 
political  uncertainty  that  attended  this  period,  let  us  add  a  word  about 
purely  local  matters.  In  1777  an  alarming  spread  of  small-pox  led 
to  measures  to  build  a  "'  Cleansing  House"  near  the  pest-house,  and 
for  the  complete  isolation  of  these  buildings.  There  is  evidence  of  a 
cautious  but  wholesome  sober  second  thought  in  the  provision  that 
the  "  Physicians  of  the  Town  be  Desired  not  to  innoculate  any  persons 
for  the    Small-Pox  or  give  them  any   preparatory   medicine  therefor 


294  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

without  the  Allowance  of  the  major  Part  of  the  Select  men."  But 
the  inoculation  part}^  again  captured  the  town,  and  that  remedy  Avas 
recommended.  The  First  Parish  was  the  greatest  sufferer,  but  the 
proposition  to  set  apart  several  houses  for  inoculation  was  not  agreed 
to.  However,  during  the  following  j^ear  the  sentiment  had  graduall}' 
changed,  and  we  find  the  town  appointing  a  committee  to  draw  up 
regulations  for  inoculation.  This  committee,  which  included  Jona- 
than Dwight  and  Colonel  Worthington,  recommended  that  inoculation 
committees  be  chosen  from  each  parish,  which  should  have  power  to 
license  doctors,  establish  hospitals,  etc.  Jonathan  Dwight  headed  a 
board  to  see  these  regulations  duly  executed.  Several  deaths  from 
inoculation  among  soldiers  had  increased  the  popular  distrust  of  that 
remedy.  At  the  close  of  the  year  1777  Edward  Pynchon  died  at  the 
age  of  sixty-five,  and  Jedediah  Bliss  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine. 

It  is  well  to  note  that  as  early  as  1778  John  Worthington  again 
consented  to  act  as  moderator  of  the  annual  town-meeting  in  the 
spring,  and  to  continue  in  this  service  through  the  war.  He  also 
did  not  refuse  to  perform  strictly  local  services.  He  examined  the 
records  of  the  "outward  commons"  to  settle  disputes  raised  by  the 
settling  up  of  affairs  with  Wilbraham  ;  he  made  the  "  proper  propor- 
tion of  the  stocks "  between  West  Springfield  and  Ludlow  and  the 
parent  town  ;  and  he  was  active  in  the  business  complications  attend- 
ing the  building  of  a  bridge  over  the  Chicopee  river.  This  bridge,  by 
the  wa}^,  was  in  part  the  product  of  a  lottery.  Three  men  of  means 
—  Worthington,  Moses  Bliss,  and  Jonathan  Dwight  —  secured  leave 
to  run  a  lottery  for  this  purpose  in  about  1782,  and  the  town  ordered 
the  bridge  built  at  once.  The  building  conunittee  was  headed  by 
Lieut.  Josiah  Hitchcock,  and  the  financial  committee  were  John  AVor- 
thington,  Moses  Bliss,  and  Jonathan  Dwight.  The  town  appropria- 
tion was  £200.  This  was  in  addition  to  the  proceeds  from  the  lottery, 
the  limit  of  wliicli  was  £500.  The  tickets  did  not  sell  rapidly,  and  the 
town  agreed  to  take  all  unsold  tickets  and  to  be  responsible  for  the 
payment  of  all  prizes.     In  March,  1783,  when  the  Chicopee  bridge 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6.  295 

was  nearly  completed,  tlie  buildiiiii-  eoininittee  complained  that  while 
they  had  anticipated  the  earnings  of  the  lottery,  most  of  the  tickets 
were  unsold,  and  the  town  reaffirmed  its  agreement  to  take  the  unsold 
tickets.  Meantime  the  selectmen  were  authorized  to  sell  the  bar  in 
the  Chicopee  river. 

In  1779  the  proprietors  of  the  iron-works  on  ^lill  river  were 
granted  lands  and  water  privileges  near  by  for  a  paper-mill ;  but  this 
was  soon  cancelled.  These  iron-Avorks  were  the  first  s^^mptoms  of 
our  famous  Water  Shops  ;  and  it  may  be  here  noted  that  the  first 
appearance  of  the  name  "  United  States  "  on  our  town  record  is  in 
August,  1779,  when  a  committee,  headed  by  C'apt.  Thomas  Stebbins, 
was  ordered  to  lease,  at  the  request  of  Col.  Thomas  Dame,  a  piece  of 
land  to  "  the  Treasurer  of  this  State  in  trust  to  the  United  States." 
Five  years  later  the  selectmen  were  authorized  to  lease  ground  on 
the  training-field  for  a  magazine.  C'apt.  Joseph  Stebbins  ran  a 
l^attery  on  the  east  side  of  North  Main  street  all  through  the  Revo- 
lution.    He  was  a  man  of  influence,  and  much  respected. 

During  the  war  market  prices  were  carefully  regulated,  the  list  of 
prices  of  the  necessities  of  life  being  submitted  for  the  approval  of  a 
special  committee.  The  town  stock  of  salt  was  distributed  at  times 
by  the  selectmen.  We  do  not  think  that  the  select  board  at  this  time 
was  as  important  a  branch  of  government  as  it  had  l)een  seventy-five 
or  one  hundred  years  before.  The  tr3nng  times  when  the  monarchy 
ended  and  republicanism  under  constitutions  began  had  restored  the 
town-meeting  to  its  ancient  glory.  This  sovereign  body  met  in  the 
old  court-house,  was  opened  by  prayer,  and,  we  believe,  still  dis- 
missed with  a  blessing.  It  w^as  sad  to  find  in  these  gatherings  men 
notably  rich  and  notably  poor.  A  deep  gulf  yawned  between  the 
two  classes  of  men,  and  while  the  course  of  public  business  went 
on.  now  tinkering  a  State  constitution,  now  authorizing  3'oked  swine 
to  run  at  large,  and  now  building  a  school  or  a  poor-house,  men 
looked  into  the  future  with  deep  concern.  There  w^as  a  cloud  over 
the  Commonwealth  during,'  the  Revolution  that  not  even  the  "lories 


296  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


of  a  struggle  for  liberty  could  dissipate.  This  cloud  was  the  great 
confusion  about  property  and  finance.  The  community  of  land  and 
the  community  of  interest  in  market  values,  religious  prerogatives, 
and  so  on,  had  fostered  rather  than  hindered  petty  monoi)olies,  that 
sprang  up  like  poisonous  dogwood  in  the  shadow  of  the  Puritan  struct- 
ure. The  Land  theory  of  the  Henry  Georges  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
which  was  the  practice  of  the  seventeenth  century  in  Massachusetts, 
was  the  consternation  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  we  can  find 
here  in  Springfield  how  it  ended.  The  common  ownership  in  land, 
whether  by  the  unconscious  native  or  the  followers  of  a  speculative 
theory,  is  a  step  through  which  natives  may  advance  ;  but  after  a 
certain  point  this  land  communism  is  reactionary  and  mediaeval. 

A\^e  have  seen  how  tlie  parent  plantation,  with  communistic  motives, 
soon  by  local  gravitations  divided  up  the  land  into  common  fields, 
the  proprietors  of  which  becoming  regular  incorporators  empowered 
to  hold  meetings,  transact  business,  sue,  and  be  sued.  These  "  com- 
mon fields  "  ripened  into  parishes  and  precincts,  while  these  in  turn 
became  ''  districts"  and  independent  towns. 

The  province  first  issued  indented  bills  of  credit  in  lODO.     They 
passed  at  a  discount  of  about  thirty  per  cent.,  but  as  they  were  re- 
deemed in  part  they  rose  to  their  par  value.      They  were  accepted 
for  "country  rates,"  though  for  many  years,  as   we  have  seen,  the 
river  towns  paid  their  taxes   in  produce.     A  want  of  a  circulating 
medium  had  forced  Massachusetts  in   1702  to  emit  "province  bills," 
which  were  continually  redeemed  and  reissued  or  burned  until  1749. 
The  duties  of  impost   and  excise  added  to  the  public  rates  did  not 
equal  the  amount  of  the  "  province  bills"  set  in  circulation.     Prop- 
erty, labor,    and    produce  advanced   in  value  ;   or,  to  state  it  more 
accurately,  paper  money  depreciated.       In  173fi  the  bills  issued  were 
to  be  equal  to  coined  silver  at  6.s.  <SrL  per  ounce.     This  was  called 
-new  tenor,"  and   £T    new  tenor  was  equal  to    ^   in  "old  tenor." 
The  new  tenor  bills  were   called  "middle   tenor"   after  1741,  when 
another  emission  (£1  equal  to  £4  of  old  tenor)  was  ordered.     These 


SPRlXdFlELD,    1636-1886.  297 

issues  were  occasioned  by  niilitaiy  expeditions,  and  the  reimburse- 
ments from  England  made  hard  mone}^  free  enough  to  secure  in 
ITr^O,  —  a  practical  resumption  of  specie  payment.  All  del)ts  payable 
in  old  tenor  were  paid  in  silver  at  Si  (Spanish  pieces-of-eight)  for 
forty-five  shillings.  Del)ts  in  middle  and  new  tenor  were  settled  at 
the  rate  of  $1  for  lis.  'M.  Specie  currency  continued  until  the 
Revolution.  The  Continental  Congress  issued  paper  money  in  1775. 
Massachusetts  made  this  money  legal  tender  here  in  1776  ;  and  this 
emergency  currenc}'  continued  to  depreciate  until  17<S(),  when  it  was 
redeemed  in  specie  at  a  depreciation  of  40  to  1. 

An  important  convention  gathered  in  Springfield  in  the  summer  of 
1777.  It  will  be  remembered  that  at  this  time  Massachusetts  was 
in  doubt  what  course  to  take  about  a  new  constitution,  and  the  con- 
vention, or  rather  committee  from  the  five  States  represented  here, 
Avent  over  some  of  the  very  subjects.  We  quote  from  the  official 
journal,  which  is  still  preserved  in  manuscript  in  the  city.  The  first 
session  was  on  July  30. 

At  a  meeting  of  Committees  from  the  States  of  New  Hampshire,  Massa- 
clmsetts  Bay  Connecticut  Rhoad  Island  and  New  York  holden  at  Springfield 
in  the  County  of  Hampsliire  the  30th  of  July  Anno  Domini  1777  for  the  purpose 
of  holding  a  Conference  Respecting  the  State  of  the  Paper  Currency  of  the 
said  Governments  of  the  expediency  of  Calling  in  y^  Same  by  Taxes  or  other- 
Avise  of  the  most  Effectual  Expeditions  and  Equal  method  of  Doing  it  and  to 
consult  upon  the  Best  means  for  preventing  the  Depreciation  &  Counterfeiting 
of  the  same,  And  also  to  consider  what  is  proper  to  be  done  with  the  acts  Lately 
made  to  prevent  monopoly  and  Oppression  and  to  Confer  upon  the  Late  Acts 
for  preventing  the  Transportation  by  Land  of  Certain  Articles  from  one  State 
to  another  and  to  consider  such  other  matters  as  perticularly  Concern  the 
Immediate  Welfare  of  said  States,  And  are  not  repugnant  to,  or  Interfering 
with  the  Powers  &  authorities  of  the  Continental  Congress,  and  to  Report  the 
Result  of  their  Conference  to  the  General  Courts  in  their  Respective  States; 
Sundry  Gentlemen  not  behig  arrived  adjourned  till  thursday  :  Then  met  accord- 
ing to  adjournm^  Present  for  New  hampshire  Col"  Josiah  Bartlett  Col"  Nath" 
Peabody 


298  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

for  Massachusetts  Bay  Hono  Tho«  Gushing  Esq-"  Hon"  Rob^  T.  Paine  Esq"" 

for  Connecticut  Hon"  Koger  Sherman  Sam"  Huntington  and  Titus  Hosmer  Esqi" 

for  Rhoad  Island  Hon^'  Wm  Bradford  Esq-"  Hon"  Stephen  Hopkins  Esq-"  &  Paul 

Mumford  Esq'' 
for  New  York  John  Moss  Hobart  Esq'" 

The  Hon"  Stephen  Hopkins  Esq'  was  appointed  President  and  Wm  Pynchon 
Jun'"  Esq""  Clerk. 

The  first  act  of  this  interstate  committee  was  to  recommend  to 
the  several  Legislatures  to  make  provision  for  the  "  drawing  in  & 
sinking  the  Bills  of  Credit  which  are  not  upon  interest,"  denomina- 
tions less  than  a  dollar  excepted,  "  either  by  Taxes  or  by  exchanging 
them  for  Treasurers  notes  for  sums  not  Less  than  Ten  Pounds  on 
Interest  at  6  p.  c.  p.  Annum  or  for  Continentall  Bills  of  Cretlit,  and 
to  prohibit  the  Currency  of  their  respective  Bills  of  Credit."  The 
committee  recommended  that  the  future  war  expenses  be  secured  by 
taxation  on  the  various  towns  without  a  resort  to  more  l)ills  of  credit. 
This  was  proposed  in  order  "  more  effectually  to  establish  the  credit 
of  the  Continental  Currency."  The  committee  complained  also  of 
the  habit  of  fixing  by  law  the  market  price  of  the  necessities  of  life. 
Soldiers  were  to  be  protected  from  loss  by  any  disturbance  of  values 
resulting  from  such  a  course,  and  the  Legislatures  were  warned 
against  any  attempt  to  "accumulate  proffits "  among  speculators 
by  making  a  corner  in  staple  articles.  A  free  commercial  inter- 
course between  the  States  was  strongly  urged. 

We  can  follow  the  fluctuations  in  value  very  readily  by  the  town  ex- 
penses. The  school  appropriations  of  Springfield  in  1777  amounted 
to  £372.  John  Worthingtou  had  not  been  paid  for  his  services  as 
representative  in  1773  and  1774,  and  the  bill  when  cancelled  in  1777 
amounted  nominally  to  £343  15s.  ;  and  in  1770  Moses  Church  was 
paid  £125  for  transporting  two  hogsheads  of  salt  from  the  Bay  in 
1777.  Thirty  yards  of  linen  furnished  by  Capt.  Nathaniel  Alexander 
in  1775  cost  the  town  £5  two  years  later,  when  the  bill  was  paid. 
And  how  was  it  in  1780?  Think  of  appropriating  £16,800  for  schools, 


SPRINGFIELD,    1036-1SS6.  :>99 

—  S84,000  !  And  the  appropriations  for  IT'SO  mounted  up  to  £2(1,- 
190  7.s>.  6rL— over  8100,000!  The  town  this  year  (1780)  had  to 
appropriate  £18,000  to  pay  its  quota  of  beef  to  the  State.  The  num- 
ber of  men  required  was  twenty-four,  and  the  town,  for  some  un- 
happy motives,  was  all  winter  getting  to  work.  Meeting  after  meet- 
ing was  held,  and  not  until  April,  1781,  did  the  opposition  give  way. 
An  extra  allowance  was  granted  the  constables  "for  their  extraor- 
dinary Trouble  in  collecting  the  moneys  that  may  be  assessed  upon 
the  Town  for  the  Current  year."  Further  requisitions  for  men  and 
provisions  late  in  the  year  were  promptly  responded  to. 

An  idea  of  true  values  is  gained  by  this  order,  passed  in  September, 
1780:  "Voted,  that  the  Treasurer  be  directed  to  receive  into  the 
Treasur}^  the  new  mone}^  emitted,  at  the  discount  of  forty  to  one." 
The  town  had  to  pay  £100  in  specie  the  year  following,  to  meet  the 
loss  "  from  the  late,  depreciation  of  the  Continental  money  ;  "  but  the 
accounts  look  much  better  with  £160  for  schools  in  place  of  the  £16,- 
800  in  1780.  There  was  a  long  list  of  delinquent  tax-payers  upon 
whom  were  assessments  in  old  Continental  money.  These  delinquents 
were  dealt  with  at  the  January  meeting  of  1782.  Reuben  Bliss  was 
moderator.  This  town-meeting  demonstrated  that  the  blood-bought 
privileges  and  honors  of  self-government  were  not  to  be  put  on  like  a 
garland  of  roses.  To  meet  the  unpaid  State  taxes  assessed  in  old 
Continental  money,  it  was  directed  that  Treasurer  ATilliam  Pynchon, 
Jr.,  issue  "  his  warrants  of  distress  upon  the  Constables  that  had  the 
old  Continental  money  Committed  to  them,"  and  Pynchon  was  also 
directed  to  dispose  of  both  the  new  money  and  the  old  Continental 
bills  in  his  hands  as  best  he  could. 

And  another  financial  matter  of  far-reaching  import  began  to  aifect 
the  inhabitants.  This  was  the  excise  act.  The  town-meeting  dismissed 
this  subject  in  short  order  by  directing  its  representatives  to  "  endeav- 
our a  repeal  of  it."  In  the  autumn  there  w^as  a  feeling  of  despair 
about  back  taxes,  and  a  special  committee,  which  had  been  chosen  to 
examine  the  securities  of  the  town  in  order  to  raise  funds  for  Chicopee 


300  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


bridge,  was  also  empowered  to  collect  their  taxes  as  best  they  could. 
It  had  been  estimated  that  the  overdue  taxes  would  rueet  the  £200 
appropriated  for  the  bridge.  In  November  the  constables  were  again 
threatened  with  "warrants  of  distress"  if  the}^  do  not  pay  taxes 
assessed  in  paper  mone}^ ;  and  things  went  on  from  bad  to  worse 
until  1783,  when  the  twenty  per  cent,  added  to  delinquents  for  taxes 
for  the  soldiers  in  the  Continental  army  brought  complications  that 
will  be  detailed  in  a  separate  chapter. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

1783-1787. 

The  Debtor  Class  in  Massachusetts.  — Rev.  Samuel  Ely.  —  Spi-ingfield  Jail  broken  open. 
—  A  Mob  at  Northampton.  —  Hatfield  Convention.  —  Commotion  in  other  States. — 
Views  of  Washington  and  other  Americans  on  the  Situation.  —  Unsuccessful  Attempt 
to  prevent  the  holding  of  the  Courts  in  Springfield.  —  Town  Officers.  —  Warrants  of 
Distress. — Prominent  Money-Lenders.  —  The  Town-Meeting  on  the  Situation. — 
Daniel  Shays. — The  Court  Calendar  loaded  with  Suits  against  Debtors.  —  Courts 
interfered  with  at  Northampton.  — The  Elections  of  1786.  —  Trouble  at  Worcester. — 
Mobs  at  Northampton.  —  Extra  Session  of  the  Legislature.  —  Shays  makes  a  Demon- 
stration at  Springfield. — The  Town-Meeting  again.  —  General  Lincoln.  —  Lincoln's 
March  to  the  Connecticut  Valley.  —  General  Shepard's  Defence  of  the  Springfield 
Armory.  —  Shays  defeated.  —  The  Towns  send  in  Petitions  praying  for  Peace  and 
Pardon.  —  The  Triumph  of  Law. 

The  returu  of  peace  brought  grave  responsibilities  upon  the  shoul- 
ders of  the  American  leaders.  The  Continental  soldiers  were  poor, 
and  the  money  was  largely  in  the  hands  of  civilians.  The  men  who, 
by  their  valor,  put  property  in  New  England  beyond  the  reach  of 
England  found  themselves  bui'dened  with  personal  obligations,  and 
the  fiercest  conflict  was  precipitated  between  debtors  who  had  borne 
arms  and  creditors  who  had  not.  This  is  the  general  statement,  but 
there  were  other  complications.  A  worthless  paper  medium,  a  sham- 
bling and  ill-defined  union  of  the  States,  a  jealousy  of  military  power, 
and  wild  visions  of  what  the  new  American  democracy  could  do,  com- 
bined to  still  further  torture  the  commonwealth.  If  1770  was  the 
time  which  tried  all  men's  souls,  1786  was  the  time  which  tried  the 
poor  man's  soul,  for  fully  one-half  of  the  citizens  in  the  State  were  in 
debt.  The  multiplication  of  judgments,  and  the  excursions  of  sheriffs 
in  search  of  property  to  levy  upon,  embittered  the  people  against  the 
courts  of  law. 


302  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

Eveu  before  the  close  of  the  Revokitioii  the  spirit  of  discord  rose  to 
the  surface.  Rev.  Samuel  Ely,  of  Somers,  Conn.,  with  uncertain  de- 
nominational connections  and  an  unsavory  character,  interfered  with 
the  courts  at  Northampton  in  1782.  He  was  convicted  and  thrown  in- 
to the  Springfield  jail,  from  which  he  was  released  by  a  mob.  It  was 
the  12th  of  June  ;  Springfield  was  in  great  commotion.  About  one 
hundred  and  fifty  men,  mostly  strangers  from  up  the  river  and  from 
the  Berkshire  hills,  with  swords,  guns,  and  bayonets,  demanded  the 
keys  of  the  common  jail.  Being  refused,  they  broke  open  the  doors, 
and  released  Ely,  McKnoll,  a  debtor,  as  well  as  a  negro.  A  majority 
of  the  people  of  the  parish,  including  Rev.  Robert  Breck,  were  at 
Longmeadow,  attending  the  funeral  of  Dr.  Stephen  AYilliams.  Re- 
turning citizens  pursued  the  party,  and  caught  and  lockedT  up  three 
men  as  hostages  for  the  return  of  Ely.  Northampton  and  other 
towns  joined  in  the  chase,  and  no  less  than  one  thousand  armed  men 
figured  in  this  episode.  On  Sunday  word  Avas  spread  abroad  that  the 
hostages  at  Northampton  were  to  be  liberated  by  a  mob,  and  two 
hundred  armed  men  marched  in  short  order  from  Springfield  to  the 
rescue.  General  Porter,  of  Hadley,  called  out  the  militia.  The  alleged 
release  of  the  three  prisoners  on  parole,  upon  assurance  that  Ely 
would  be  surrendered,  has  been  called  ''  contemptibly  pusillanimous" 
on  the  part  of  General  Porter  ;  but  a  competent  authority  (George 
Sheldon)  sa3's  :  "  It  was  by  the  firmness  of  General  Porter  that  the 
hiAv  was  sustained,  and  b}-  his  prudence  that  a  disastrous  scene  of 
bloodshed  was  averted,  when  six  hundred  determined  men  confronted 
the  five  hundred  and  fifty  who  guarded  the  Northampton  jail,  —  men 
equal  in  courage  and  social  position.  The  mob  had  been  misled  by 
false  reports,  and  it  is  a  fact  that  the  hostages,  while  still  in  prison, 
made  such  representations  to  Captain  Dickinson  and  others,  that  this 
well-organized,  well-led,  and  well-armed  body  of  men,  whom  that 
distinguished  patriot,  Joseph  Hawley,  dignified  by  calling  '  insur- 
gents,' were  induced  to  disband  and  disperse  without  firing  a  shot." 

YAy  claimed  that  he  had  acted  upon  the  authority  of  a   convention 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-2886.  303 

of  several  towns  which  had  met  at  Hatfield  in  April.  Springfield,  on 
the  19th  of  March,  had  chosen  as  delegates  to  such  a  convention 
Capt.  John  Morgan  and  Dr.  Chaunce}'  Brewer.  They  were  to  re- 
ceive their  instructions  from  William  Pynchon.  Jr.,  John  Hale,  and 
Capt.  James  Sikes. 

In  August  delegates  were  chosen  to  another  Hatfield  convention. 
These  were  part  of  a  series  of  count}^  conventions  in  this  and  other 
portions  of  the  State.  The  usual  course  was  to  first  declare  that 
the  conventions  were  legal  bodies,  then  counsel  peaceful  jnodes  of 
agitation  ;  but,  as  was  the  case  in  Northampton,  the  counsel  was  a 
mere  fonn.  AVe  will  not  follow  the  example  of  some  writers  on  the 
Shays  insurrection,  and  enter  into  bitter  denunciations  of  the  insur- 
gents. There  was  not  an  exceptionally  unruly  spirit  among  the 
^Massachusetts  people  of  that  day.  They  had  simply  become 
poverty  stricken  and  distressed.  Poverty  knows  no  law.  Self-gov- 
ernment was  new,  imperfect,  and,  in  fine,  ill-understood,  and  the 
great  mass  of  the  rebels  never  thought  of  shouldering  a  musket 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  from  others  what  did  not  belong  to 
them. 

During  the  years  between  the  departure  of  British  soldiers  in  1 783 
and  the  meeting  of  the  Philadelphia  convention  of  1787,  which 
drafted  the  United  States  Constitution,  the  thought  of  the  New  AVorld 
was  largel}^  centred  upon  Massachusetts  and  New  England,  and 
even  public  men  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic  were  beginning  to 
l)redict  the  immediate  collapse  of  the  experiment  of  self-government. 
The  tory  element  in  the  States,  which  the  stress  of  war  had  forced 
into  sullen  silence,  had  come  to  the  surface,  and  in  Massachusetts 
and  in  portions  of  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  and  New  Hampshire, 
to  say  nothing  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  the  common  people 
seemed  bent  upon  plunging  into  a  democracy  that  was  but  one 
remove  from  comnumism  in  both  property  and  i)olitics.  "An  aboli- 
tion of  debts,  both  public  and  private,"  writes  Mr.  Madison  in  178G 
of    the    Shays   movement,   "and    a    new  division   of    propert}^    are 


304  SPRINGFIELD,   1636-1886. 


strongly  suspected  to  be  in  contemplation."  While  the  monarchy  is 
the  refuge  and  prayer  of  the  tory  wherever  found,  communism  in 
some  form  is  the  untutored  aim  of  democratic  mobs. 

Congress  in  1786  heard  of  the  doings  of  the  Massachusetts  insur- 
gents, and  was  asked  by  the  Governor  of  Massachusetts  to  loan 
sixty  field-pieces  ;  but  that  body  refused  the  request.  The  majority 
felt  that  Congress  had  no  right  to  send  arms  or  move  to  subdue  a 
rebellion  in  any  State.  The  spirit  of  1776  was  the  pulsation  of  a 
democratic  sentiment;  the  spirit  of  1786  was  a  contention  about  con- 
stitutional forms. 

"We  are  certainly  in  a  delicate  situation,"  George  Washington 
wrote  to  John  Jay  in  the  spring  of  1786,  "  but  my  fear  is  that  the 
people  are  not  sufficiently  misled  to  retract  from  error.  To  be  plain, 
I  think  there  is  more  wickedness  than  ignorance  mixed  in  our 
counsels.  Under  this  impression  I  scarcely  know  what  opinion  to 
entertain  of  a  general  convention." 

The  development  of  this  feeling  in  Washington's  mind  was  gradual, 
but  the  condition  of  unhappy  Massachusetts  soon  determined  his 
course,  and  the  statesmanship  at  the  bottom  of  it  was  finally  elab- 
orated by  Hamilton,  Jay,  and  Madison  in  "The  Federalist,"  where 
the  Sha^'s  rebellion  figures  as  the  most  conspicuous  argument  against 
the  shambling  league  of  sovereign  States.  One  of  the  strongest 
papers,  contributed  by  Alexander  Hamilton  to  the  "  Federalist," 
turned  upon  this  very  tendency  among  neighboring  States  to  distress- 
ing contentions.  "  To  look  for  a  continuation  of  harmony  between 
a  number  of  independent,  unconnected  sovereignties  in  the  same 
neighborhood,"  said  Mr.  Hamilton,  "would  be  to  disregard  the  uni- 
form course  of  human  events."  He  goes  on  to  dispute  that  com- 
mercial interests  will  not  prevent  rivalry,  and  adds :  "  Perhaps, 
however,  a  reference  tending  to  illustrate  the  general  principle  may 
with  propriety  be  made  to  a  case  which  has  lately  happened  among 
ourselves.  If  Shays  had  not  been  a  desperate  debtor,  it  is  much  to 
be  doubted  whether  Massachusetts  would   have  been  plunged  into  a 


SrRIXGFIELD,    2636-1886.  305 

civil  wai-."  He  then  answers  his  own  question  as  to  M'hether  it  is 
time  to  "  wake  from  the  deceitful  dream  of  a  golden  age  :  "  — 

"  Let  the  points  of  extreme  depression  to  which  our  national  dig- 
nity and  credit  have  sunk  ;  let  the  inconveniences  felt  everywhere 
from  a  lax  and  ill  administration  of  government ;  let  the  revolt  of  a 
part  of  the  State  of  North  Carolina,  the  late  menacing  disturbances  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  the  actual  insurrections  and  rebellions  in  Massa- 
chusetts declare  !  " 

Mr.  Hamilton,  in  another  part  of  the  "  Federalist,"  asks  with  much 
feeling  :  "  Who  can  determine  what  might  have  been  the  issue  of  her 
(Massachusetts)  late  convulsions,  if  the  malcontents  had  been  headed 
by  a  Cfesar  or  by  a  Cromwell  ?  Who  can  predict  what  effect  a  despot- 
ism, established  in  Massachusetts,  would  have  upon  the  liberties  of 
New  Hampshire  or  Rhode  Island,  of  Connecticut  or  New  York?" 

Four  months  after  the  defeat  of  Daniel  Shays,  General  Washington 
was  presiding  over  the  convention  that  drew  up  the  Constitution  of  the 
Ignited  States.  When  General  AYashington  heard  of  the  repeated  stop- 
ping of  courts  of  justice  in  Massachusetts,  he  made  no  attempt  to 
conceal  his  consternation.  '""For  God's  sake,  tell  me,"  he  wrote  to 
Col.  David  Humphreys,  "  what  is  the  cause  of  all  these  commotions? 
Do  they  proceed  from  licentiousness,  British  influence  disseminated 
by  the  tories,  or  real  grievances  w^hich  admit  of  redress?"  It  is  dis- 
tressing to  follow  his  agitation.  "  There  are  combustibles  in  every 
State,"  he  writes  to  General  Knox,  '*•  to  which  a  spark  might  set  fire. 
In  bewailing  —  which  I  have  often  done  with  the  keenest  sorrow  — 
the  death  of  our  much  lamented  friend,  General  Greene,  I  have  ac- 
companied my  regrets  of  late  with  a  query  whether  he  Avould  not  have 
preferred  such  an  exit  to  the  scenes  which  it  is  more  than  probable 
many  of  his  compatriots  may  live  to  bemoan.  You  talk,  my  dear  sir, 
of  employing  influence  to  appease  the  present  tumults  in  Massachu- 
setts. I  know  not  where  that  influence  is  to  be  found  ;  nor,  if  attain- 
able, that  it  would  be  a  proper  remedy  for  these  disorders.  Influence 
is  not   2:overnment.     Let  us  have  a  ofovernment  bv  which  our  lives. 


306  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6. 


liberties,  and  properties  will  be  secured ;  or  let  us  know  the  worst  at 
once."  When  General  Washington  heard  that  the  Massachusetts  in- 
surgents had  rejected  the  pardon  extended  by  the  General  Court,  and 
the  governor  had  called  out  the  militia,  the  great  Virginian  wrote  : 
"What,  gracious  God,  is  man,  that  there  should  be  such  inconsis- 
tency and  perfidiousuess  ?  " 

General  Lincoln  wrote  Washington  a  long  letter  at  the  close  of  the 
exciting  year  1786  in  answer  to  the  question  of  the  latter  :  ''  Are  we 
to  have  the  goodly  fabric,  that  eight  years  were  spent  in  raising, 
pulled  down  over  our  heads  ?  "  A  long  quotation  is  here  made,  be- 
cause Lincoln  was  made  a  prominent  figure  in  the  Shays  rebellion, 
and  because  his  letter  has  never  been  read  by  the  general  public  :  — 

There  is  great  danger  that  it  will  be  so,  1  think,  unless  the  tottering  system 
shall  be  supported  by  arms ;  and  even  then  a  government,  Avhich  has  no  other 
basis  than  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  should  one  be  supported  thereon,  is  so  totally 
different  from  the  one  established,  at  least  in  idea,  by  the  different  States,  that  if 
Ave  must  have  resource  to  the  sad  experiment  of  arms,  it  can  be  hardly  said  tliat 
we  have  supported  ••  the  goodly  fabric,"' — in  this  view  of  the  matter  it  maybe 
"  pulled  over  our  heads."  This  probably  will  be  the  case,  for  there  doth  not  ap- 
pear to  be  virtue  enough  among  the  people  to  preserve  a  perfect  republican 
government.  ••  What  is  the  cause  of  all  these  commotions?  "  The  causes  are 
too  many,  and  too  various  for  me  to  pretend  to  trace  and  point  them  out.  I  shall 
therefore  only  mention  some  of  those  which  appear  to  be  the  principal  ones. 
Among  those  1  may  rank  the  ease  with  which  property  Avas  acquired,  with  which 
credit  was  obtaineil,  and  debts  were  discharged  in  the  time  of  the  war.  Hence 
people  were  diverted  from  their  usual  industry  and  economy ;  a  luxurious  mode 
of  living  crept  into  vogue;  and  soon  that  income  by  which  the  expense  of  all 
should,  as  much  as  possible,  be  limited,  Avas  no  longer  considered  as  having  any- 
thing to  do  Avith  the  question — at  Avhat  expense  families  ought  to  live,  or  rather 
Avhich  they  ought  not  to  exceed.  The  moment  the  day  arrived  Avhen  all  discov- 
ered that  things  Avere  fast  returning  back  into  their  original  channels ;  that  the 
industrioiis  Avere  to  reap  the  fruits  of  their  industry  :  and  that  the  indolent  and 
improvident  would  soon  experience  the  evils  of  their  idleness  and  sloth,  very  many 
started  at  the  idea,  and,  instead  of  attempting  to  subject  themselves  to  such  a 
Une  of  conduct,  as  duty  to  the  public  and  a  regard  to   their  o^vn  happiness  evi- 


SPRIXGFIELD,    1636-lSSG.  307 

dently  pointed  out,  they  contemplated  how  they  sliould  evade  the  necessity  of  re- 
forming their  systems  and  changmg  their  present  mode  of  life.  They  first  com- 
plained of  commutation ;  of  the  weight  of  public  taxes ;  of  the  unsupportabie 
debt  of  the  Union  ;  of  the  scarcity  of  money  ;  of  the  cruelty  of  suffering  private 
creditors  to  call  for  their  just  dues.  Tliis  catalogue  of  complaints  was  listened 
to  by  many ;  county  conventions  were  formed ;  and  tlie  cry  for  paper  money, 
subject  to  depreciation,  as  Avas  declared  by  some  of  their  public  resolves,  was  the 
clamor  of  the  day.  But,  notwithstanding  instructions  to  members  of  the  General 
Court,  and  petitions  from  different  quarters,  the  majority  of  that  body  were  op- 
posed to  the  measure.  Failing  of  their  point,  the  disaffected  in  the  first  place 
attempted,  and  in  many  instances  succeeded,  to  stop  courts  of  law,  and  to  sus- 
pend the  operations  of  government ;  this  they  lioped  to  do  until  they  could  by 
force  sap  the  foundations  of  our  constitution,  and  bring  into  the  Legislature 
creatures  of  their  own,  by  whom  they  could  mold  a  government  at  pleasure  and 
make  it  subservient  to  all  their  purposes  :  and  when  an  end  should  thereby  be 
put  to  public  and  private  debts,  the  agrarian  law  miglit  follow  with  ease. 


A  citizen  of  western  Massacliusetts  asks  soberl}^  in  a  Springfield 
paper  :  "  If  any  or  all  the  States  in  the  Union  should  pay  no  atten- 
tion to  the  resolves  and  recommendations  of  Congress,  of  what 
consequence  is  Congress  to  them?  "  And  adds  :  '"  I  seldom  converse 
with  a  judicious,  well-disposed  man,  but  supposes  there  is  a  dreadful 
storm  gathering." 

The  obligations  of  Massachusetts  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution 
were  in  round  numbers  as  follows  :  — 

Regular  or  private  debt £1,300,000 

Due  to  soldiers 250,000 

Share  of  federal  debt 1,500,000 


£3,050,000 


One-third  of  the  amount  was  to  be  paid  by  ratable  polls,  which  did 
not  reach  one  hundred  thousand.  Exports  were  reduced  to  compara- 
tivel}^  nothing,  and  agriculture  was  at  a  distressingh'  low  ebb.  Writs 
of  creditors  almost  confounded  the  courts  and  made  the  legal  profes- 


308  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

sioii  aud  the  sheriffs  a  by-word  and  a  hissing.  The  passing  of  the 
tender  act  of  1782,  by  which  neat  cattle  and  other  specified  property 
could  be  offered  to  satisfy  executions  for  debt,  opened  the  door  for 
greater  irregularities.  A  war  between  rich  and  poor  was  precipitated, 
and  the  judgment  debtor  and  the  judgment  creditor  crossed  swords. 
More  people  were  in  debt  than  out  of  debt,  and  a  good  authority  says 
that  from  1784  to  1786  every  fourth,  if  not  every  tliird,  man  was  a 
defendant  in  writs  of  execution  in  Massachusetts. 

The  great  object  of  tlie  insurgents  was,  at  first,  to  stop  the  courts, 
in  order  to  prevent  the  entering  of  judgments.  In  May,  1783,  a  mob 
of  debtors  attempted,  with  clubs,  to  prevent  the  judges,  headed  by 
the  sheriff',  from  entering  the  Springfield  court-house,  but  were  re- 
pulsed and  several  arrested.  Many  were  clubbed,  and  it  is  said  that 
one  offensive  insurgent  was  thrown  into  the  town  brook.  Conven- 
tions were  held  at  Deerfield  in  September,  1783,  and  at  Hatfield 
the  following  October,  but  no  violent  measures  were  recommended. 
As  lawyers  were  considered  instruments  of  oppression  to  the  debt- 
ridden  people,  a  general  agitation  against  the  profession  followed. 
At  the  Deerfield  convention  the  town  committees  of  Hampshire  county 
voted:  "It  appears  to  us  absolutel}^  impossible  that  tlie  people 
should  be  able  to  grapple  with  the  burdens  Ijing  on  them,  and  that 
notliing  but  a  general  bankruptcy  must  soon  inevitably  be  our  por- 
tion." 

Tlie  Springfield  representatives  to  the  General  Court  for  1783, 
Thomas  Williston  and  Gideon  Burt,  were  given  sundry  instructions 
in  view  of  the  popular  commotions.  These  instructions  are  lost,  but 
certain  it  is  that  they  both  declined  to  serve,  and  Thomas  Stebbins 
and  Nathaniel  Ely  went  in  their  stead.  AVe  would  infer  that  the  lat- 
ter were  more  in  S3nnpathy  with  the  debtor  class  than  the  former.  On 
October  17  the  town-meeting  was  presided  over  by  James  Sikes,  and 
the  delegates  to  the  Hatfield  convention  of  October  20  were  Luke  Bliss 
and  Thomas  Williston,  for  which  service  they  received  £3,  showing 
that  these  conventions  were  recognized  bv  the  towns.     It  was  claimed 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  o09 

that  the  conventions  of  these  dii^^s  were  not  legal ;  bnt  it  wonld 
seem  that  a  convention  composed  of  delegates  chosen  by  the  various 
towns,  and  supported  by  the  town  treasury,  was  quite  as  legal  as  a 
constitutional  convention  assembled  at  the  invitation  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts committee  of  safety  to  the  various  town  committees  of 
safety. 

The  town  of  Springfield  maintained  an  even  course  during  these 
troublous  times,  so  far  as  overt  acts  go.  The  debtor  class  was  more 
numerous  up  the  river  and  on  the  hills.  Springfield  had  several 
money-lenders  who  were  widely  known,  and,  of  course,  not  a  little 
unpopular  in  the  rural  districts.  Here  are  the  principal  ofhcers 
elected  in  March,  1784:  Moderator,  John  ^yorthington  ;  clerk  and 
treasurer,  William  Pynchon  ;  selectmen,  William  Pynchon,  Moses 
Bliss,  Y..  Chapin,  Thomas  Williston,  and  Reuben  Bliss.  Here  is  also 
the  result  of  the  elections  of  1784,  so  far  as  Springfield  is  concerned : 
Governor  —  total,  65  ;  James  Bowdoiu,  ,31  ;  Jolm  Hancock,  7  ;  John 
Worthington,  7.  Lieutenant-Governor  —  total,  68;  Thomas  Gush- 
ing, 13  ;  Jolm  Worthington,  46 ;  James  Bowdoin,  4.  Senator  — 
total,  49  ;  John  Worthington,  o  ;  Caleb  Strong,  47  ;  Moses  Bliss, 
38 ;  John  Bliss,  6 ;  Timothy  Danielson,  40 ;  John  Hastings,  3 ; 
Noah  Goodman,  1  ;  Luke  Bliss,  1  ;  John  Ingersoll,  1  ;  A.  Burbank, 
18  ;  Samuel  Mathew,  1  ;  Simeon  Strong,  37.  Thomas  Dwight  was 
representative,  and  was  reelected  in  1785.  In  the  March  meeting  of 
1784,  above  referred  to,  over  which  Colonel  AA'orthington  presided, 
it  was  proposed  to  create  the  office  of  collector  of  taxes  ;  but  the 
motion  failed. 

The  old  rule  was  that  the  constables  should  collect  the  town  rates. 
It  was  difficult  to  get  men  to  serve  in  that  capacity.  Those  elected 
that  year  at  an  adjourned  meeting  included  Luther  Van  Horn  and 
Rufus  Sikes,  who  accepted  ;  but  Judah  Chapin  and  Gerald  Warner 
seem  to  have  declined  the  honor,  as  did  also  Dr.  Joel  Marble  at  a 
still  later  meeting.  The  town  records  during  these  weeks  are  as 
defective   as  the   popular  feeling  was  disturbed.     Warrants   of  dis- 


310  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6. 

tress  were  ordered  against  some  of  the  constables  in  April,  and  in 
May  stray  bits  of  town  lands  were  looked  to  for  financial  relief.  In 
November,  1784,  £213  19s.  6d.  was  voted  for  town  expenses.  At 
the  spring  meeting  (1785)  the  constables  selected  were  William 
Cooley,  Charles  Sheldon,  Seth  Chapin,  Jr.,  Calvin  Stebbins,  Calvin 
Bliss,  Jnstin  Lumbard,  and  William  Smith ;  but  only  Sheldon, 
Chapin,  and  Lumbard  agreed  to  serve  ;  but  subsequently  they  de- 
clined, and  Aaron  Morgan  and  Lieut.  John  Colton  substituted. 
Morgan  was  an  experienced  hand  at  the  business,  and  Lieutenant 
Colton's  name  added  dignity  to  what  was  ordinarily  a  perfunctory 
and  ministerial  service,  but  had  now  become  solemn  exploits  in 
finance. 

A  committee,  headed  by  Colonel  Worthington,  gave  Representa- 
tive Dwight  the  following  instructions  as  to  matters  and  things  in 
general  in  November,  1785  :  — 

Sir  this  Town  placing  great  Trust  &  Confidence  in  your  Integrity  &  abiHties  & 
which  they  trust  will  be  sufficient  to  direct  your  General  conduct  as  a  member  of 
the  Representative  branch  of  the  Legislature,  nevertheless  have  thought  fit  to 
Instruct  you  in  some  few  matters  that  perticularly  respect  this  Town.  We 
desire  your  perticular  attention  to  the  General  vahiation,  we  suppose  this  County 
in  General  is  taxed  beyond  their  due  proportion,  with  other  Counties  and  that 
this  Town  in  perticular  is  taxed  beyond  their  due  proportion.  Compared  with 
the  Towns  in  the  Country 

It  is  manifest  the  same  Estates  pay  more  in  this  ToAvn  than  in  any  other  Town 
we  are  acquainted  with  Avhich  has  brought  upon  us  great  arrearages  of  past 
Taxes  and  if  not  remedied  soon  must  effectually  discourage  all  attempts  & 
Efforts  to  discharge  them  and  render  the  burthen  quite  Intolerable,  we  therefore 
Instruct  you,  to  use  your  utmost  Endeavor,  in  Union  with  other  County  mem- 
bers, in  the  first  place,  that  a  due  proportion,  be  laid  on  the  trading  part  of  the 
Community,  the  want  of  which  is  one  principal  source,  of  the  present  Inequality, 
and  then  that  only  a  due  proportion  be  set  on  this  Town,  Compared  with  others 
in  this  County,  and  also  that  you  Endeavour  a  Remedy,  for  the  great  Inequality 
of  the  past  Taxes,  another  matter  tho'  indeed  of  a  more  General  &  public,  con- 
cern to  Avhich  we  desire  to  recall  your  perticular  attention,  is  the  act  passed  by 
the  last   General  assembly  granting  certain  diities   upon   Vellum  Parchment  & 


SPRIXGFIELD,    1636-1SS6.  311 

Paper  and  commonly  called  the  Stamp  act.  This  we  do  Instruct  you  to  use 
your  utmost  Endeavor  to  obtain  a  repeal  of,  if  it  be  possible,  and  if  that  cannot 
be  obtained,  that  you  Endeavor  to  procure  such  alterations  and  amendments 
both  in  the  articles  dutied  and  in  the  mode  of  Collection  as  will  render  it  less 
burthensome  to  Individuals  as  well  as  more  beneficial  to  the  Community  the 
perticular  dutied  articles,  which  we  would  mention  as  most  burthensome,  are 
notes  of  Hand  &  publish  News  papers,  the  former  is  such  an  Intolerable  burthen 
as  has  never  been  attempted,  even  in  great  Brittain.  And  the  other  being  about 
I3  of  the  value  which  is  indeed  a  very  high  duty,  must  greatly  discourage  the 
Circulation  of  those  Useful  vehicles  of  public  knowledge,  if  not  cause  them 
wholly  to  be  laid  aside,  or  perhaps  throw  the  business  of  printers,  into  the 
neighbouring  States. 

As  to  the  mode  of  Collection,  if  the  act  Avere  to  Continue,  most  of  the  duties 
might  be  collected  and  paid  by  the  several  publick  Officers,  Issuing  the  dutied 
articles  so  as  to  prevent  the  burthen  Expenses  of  Stamps  &  Stamp  officers,  as 
for  Instance,  the  Clerks  of  Courts  may  receive  the  duties  upon  writs  &  Execu- 
tions &c,  Registers  of  deeds  the  Duty  on  deeds,  the  Naval  Officers  such  duties 
as  are  appointed  on  ye  Papers,  used  in  their  respective  Offices,  by  which  means 
there  would  of  Consequence  be  a  great  saving  of  Expence,  and  Ave  believe,  more 
money,  neated  to  the  Treasury  as  well  as  great  Trouble  and  Inconvenience  pre- 
vented. 

Warrants  of  distress  were  once  more  ordered  that  month  (Novem- 
ber, 1785)  against  tax  delinquents  prior  to  1783.  In  March,  1786, 
we  find  Colonel  Worthington  moderator  and  Moses  Bliss  on  the 
select  board.  There  was  more  difficulty  about  constables  ;  a  list  was 
finally  made  out,  but  Charles  Sheldon  had  had  his  share  of  trouble, 
and  retired,  in  spite  of  the  general  desire  to  have  him  serve.  Evi- 
dence of  the  popular  distress  in  money  matters  is  seen  in  the  fact  that 
over  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  Springfield  inhabitants  for  several  years 
had  worked  out  their  highway  tax  instead  of  paying  money.  The  con- 
stables were  given  two  and  a  half  per  cent,  specie  for  their  common- 
wealth tax  collections,  but  finally  John  Pynchon  came  to  the  rescue  in 
May  by  actnig  as  constable  for  the  first  parish  for  £20,  and  two  and 
a  half  per  cent,  on  the  commonwealth  tax.  A  little  earlier  the  pro- 
posal to  make  Northampton  the  shire  town  had  created  some  concern. 


312  SPRINGFIELD,     I636-1S86. 

and  John  Worthiugton,  backed  by  ]\Ioses  Bliss  and  Thomas  Dwight, 
were  set  at  the  gates  of  Spriugtield  to  oppose  such  a  disastrous 
transfer. 

The  popuhir  upheavals  induced  Springfield  to  send  Thomas  Dwight 
and  Luke  Bliss  to  the  May  convention  at  Hatfield,  1786.  The  selec- 
tion of  Dwiglit  is  proof  positive  that  the  majority  felt  that  these 
conventions  would  serve  an  important  public  service.  The  unhappy 
town  was  frequently  battling  with  povert}'  in  legal  meetings,  but  to 
little  purpose.  An  important  appeal  for  relief  was  sent  to  the 
General  Court  in  June,  1786  ;  Thomas  Dwight  refusing  the  offer  of 
reelection  to  the  Legislature  in  178(),  Samuel  Lyman  was  chosen 
in  his  place.  Moses  Bliss  was  moderator  in  August,  1786,  when 
William  Pynchon  and  Capt.  James  Sikes  were  sent  to  the  Hatfield 
convention  that  month,  and  at  an  adjourned  meeting  Bliss  and 
Worthington  refused  to  serve  on  an  advisory  committee  on  the  state 
of  affairs.  William  P^mchon  was  the  moving  spirit  of  this  com- 
mittee, and  the  following  report,  adopted  September  25,  1786,  is 
added  as  expressing  an  heroic  faith  and  admirable  self-control  amid 
deplorable  commotions,  hungry  men,  swarming  debtors,  exacting 
creditors,  obstructed  courts,  dismembered  families,  and  the  plots  of 
sundry  seditious  spirits  ready  for  adventure  on  general  principles  :  — 

To  Sami^  Lyman  Esq""  Sir  as  the  approaching  Session  of  the  General  Court, 
at  which  you  are  to  attend  as  the  Representative  of  this  town  will  be  pecuUarly 
important,  we  think  it  our  duty  to  Communicate  to  you  our  sentiments  on  sundry 
matters  Avhich  may  probably  then  be  subjects  of  dehberation  and  debate. 

While  we  disapprove  the  late  voilent  proceedings  which  have  obstructed  the 
Course  of  public  Justice  in  this  &  some  other  Countys,  we  are  constrained  to 
say,  we  feel  in  Common  with  others,  the  pressure  of  public  burthens,  and  fully 
persuaded  that  some  measures,  perfectly  consistent  with  Justice,  and  the  honour 
of  Government,  might  be  adopted,  Avhich  would  afford  sensible  relief,  and  restore 
general  tranquility. 

The  late  appropriations  of  revenue,  arising  from  liscences  and  Impost,  and 
liscences  from  Inholder  and  retailers  of  Spiritous  liquors  to  the  payment  of 
interest  on  our  state  securities  has  given  us  as  well  as  others,  erreat  Uneasiness. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6.  313 


You  will  use  your  influence,  that  this  revenue  be  in  future  applied  to  purchase 
this  states  share  of  the  final  settlement  Certificates,  which  may  now  be  obtained 
at  a  low  rate,  for  this  purpose  Agents  may  be  employed,  nor  do  Ave  see  why  the 
impost  and  excise  may  not  be  payable  in  the  Certificates  made  themselves,  or  solid 
Coin  at  the  option  of  the  debtors,  with  such  difference  as  obtains  in  private 
dealings.  Thus  we  shall  be  able  to  answer  the  requisitions  of  Congress  Avithout 
a  future  tax,  for  probably  this  State  which  has  all  along  distinguished  not  to  say 
distressed  herself  by  her  forward  exertions  in  the  common  Cause,  Avill  appear  to 
have  a  ballance  due  to  her  from  the  United  States  whenever  her  accounts  Avith 
them  are  adjusted.  Avhich  Ave  Avish  may  be  soon  as  possible. 

Let  the  interest  on  our  State  securities  no  more  be  paid  in  Coin,  Avhich  Avas 
not  the  original  promise,  nor  expectation  nor  can  Justice  require  it,  as  these 
securities  haA^e  been  generally  transferred,  and  are  noAv  negotiated  at  a  Ioav  rate, 
and  the  possessors  have  in  various  ways  received  peculiar  advantages  already ; 
but  let  it  be  paid  in  ncAv  Certificates  or  in  orders  on  the  taxes  that  have  been  or 
shall  be  granted  for  the  redemption  of  said  securities,  as  is  practised  in  other 
States. 

When  a  tax  is  issued  for  the  redemption  of  securities  already  due,  let  it  fall  a 
little  beloAv  their  full  amount,  as  has  been  Avisely  practised  heretofore,  to  prevent 
an  appreciation;  and,  to  facilitate  the  payment  of  the  tax,  Ave  Avould  advise,  that 
the  possessors  of  securities  be  notified  to  bring  them  to  the  treasurer  and  receive 
for  as  much  as  is  due  on  them  Certificates  of  smaller  denominations,  Avhich  may 
more  conveniently  circulate,  and  let  them  that  have  been  or  shall  be  granted  for 
the  redemption  of  said  securities,  as  is  practised  in  other  States. 

When  a  tax  is  issued  for  the  redemption  of  securities  already  due,  let  it  fall  a 
little  beloAv  their  full  amount,  as  has  been  Avisely  practised  heretofore  to  prevent 
an  appreciation,  and  to  facilitate  the  payment  of  the  taxAve  avouM  advise,  that  the 
possessors  of  securities  be  notified  to  bring  them  to  the  treasurer  and  receive  for 
as  much  as  is  due  on  them  Certificates  of  smaller  denominations,  Avhich  may 
more  Conveniently  circulate,  and  let  them  be  received  in  payment  of  the  tax. 
Those  Avhich  remain  after  the  first  collection  is  finished  may  be  transferred  to 
the  succeeding  tax,  thus  Ave  apprehend.  Justice  may  be  done,  and  the  people 
relieved  and  all  the  advantages  of  a  paper  Currency  may  be  obtained,  and  the 
Common  Mischief  of  it  avoided. 

If  a  motion  should  be  made  for  a  paper  medium  to  be  substituted  in  the  place 
of  solid  Coin,  as  a  tender  in  discharge  of  private  debts,  you  Avill  oppose  it  Avith 
all  your  influence,  such  a  medium  is  insignificant  in  itself,  pregnant  of  innumer- 
able Evils,  both  political  &  moral,  contrary  to  the  Spirit  of  our  Constitution,  and 


314  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

inconsistent  Avitli  the  rights  of  Mankind ;  whatever  orders  government  may  see 
fit  to  make  with  respect  to  future  contracts,  no  government  can  possibly  have  a 
rigiit  to  aher  private  contracts,  already  made  under  her  jjatronage,  and  the  pro- 
tection and  security  of  laws  then  existing.  A  Usurpation  in  such  an  instance 
might  soon  become  a  precedent  for  Usurpation  still  more  dangerous,  till  the 
liberties  of  the  people  Avere  Annihilated,  not  to  add  that  the  hicrease  of  our  i)aper 
debt  at  a  time  when  it  is  already  a  burthen,  appears  a  preposterous  and  ridiculous 
remedy.  You  are  not  to  favor  any  motion  for  a  present  revisal  of  our  Constitu- 
tion, we  are  far  from  thinking  it  too  perfect  to  be  amended,  but  as  within  a  few 
years  it  is  to  be  revised,  of  course  if  then  found  necessary,  we  cannot  suppose, 
it  would  be  prudent,  to  incur  the  extraordinary  expense  and  peculiar  danger  of 
attempting  an  alteration,  in  so  burthensome  &  so  critical  a  time  as  tliis,  there  are 
matters  of  greater  &  more  immediate  consequence  which  require  your  attention, 
and  on  which  present  relief  more  Especially  depends  the  general  perturbation  of 
peoples  spirits  at  tliis  instant,  will  scarcely  admit  that  calm  dispassionate  deliber- 
ation which  is  necessary  in  laying  the  ground-work  in  government  in  so  large  and 
so  commercial  a  state,  and  a  state  Mdiich  has  so  many  foreign  as  well  as  domestic 
connections,  and  probably  would  prevent  a  tolerable  agreement  in  any  amend- 
ments that  could  be  proposed. 

We  Avould  further  observe  that  the  tax  granted  in  march  last  and  the 
method  proposed  for  the  payment  thereof,  under  our  embarrissments  we  conceive 
caimot  be  complied  with,  nor  does  it  appear  to  us  that  Justice  requires  it  should, 
for  if  individuals  are  possessed  of  Certificates  which  the  legislature  has  directed 
to  be  received  in  part  of  said  tax.  why  should  they  be  precluded  from  paying  the 
same  in  discharge  of?  unless  a  certain  sum  be  likewise  paid  in  Coin ;  or  rather 
Avhy  should  we  be  obliged  to  pay  any  part  which  is  to  be  applied  to  Congress,  so 
long  as  the  neighboring  states  are  making  no  such  provision?  You  will  there- 
fore consider  this  as  an  object  of  your  attention  and  use  your  endeavour  that 
such  an  alteration  take  place  Avith  regard  to  the  collection  thereof  as  will  be  con- 
sistent with  the  abilities  of  the  people,  or  that  it  be  suspended  to  some  future 
period,  or  until  our  Sister  states  adopt  similar  measures. 

If  the  legislature  could  devise  a  more  expeditious  and  less  expensive  method  of 
administering  Justice  in  future,  and  for  that  end  some  alteration  be  made  in  the 
Courts  of  Common  pleas  and  general  Sessions  of  the  peace,  we  Avould  most 
heartily  acquiesce  therein.  It  may  perhaps  deserve  a  thought  Avhether  certain 
Justices  specially  appointed,  may  not  be  empoAvered  to  go  into  one  tAvo  or  three 
Countries  and  try  causes,  such  as  are  now  tryed  by  the  Common  pleas  and  General 
Sessions  of   the  peace,  and  by  that  means  prevent  the  needless   expence  of  so 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6.  315 

great  a  number  of  Justices  giving  their  attendance  at  the  general  Sessions  of  the 
peace  as  before  express^  but  this  you  Avill  consider  as  a  mere  suggestion  not  as 
a  positiA'e  instruction. 

A  long  list  of  delegates  to  the  Hadley  conveiitiou  of  November  7 
declined  to  serve,  except  Joseph  Ferre.  On  what  class  of  men,  it 
may  be  asked,  did  the  burdens  rest  the  heaviest?  Let  us  take  speci- 
men cases.  In  1783  Noah  Copley,  of  Westfield,  allows  his  note  for 
£4  1 7s.  bd.  to  John  Worthington  to  go  to  protest,  and  the  latter  se- 
cures judgment  with  £1  9s.  2d.  in  costs.  That  is  to  say,  to  use  round 
numbers,  a  man  owing  S24  had  to  pay  $7  for  the  privilege  of  having 
the  sheriff  sell  S24  worth  of  his  goods.  There  were  hundreds  of  such 
cases  in  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas.  At  the  February  (1784)  session 
of  that  court,  one  Daniel  Sha^^s,  of  Pelhani,  "  Gent'","  was  defendant 
in  a  suit  brought  by  John  Johnson  "  yoeman,"  for  the  enforcement 
of  a  promissory  note  for  £12.  vShays  did  not  appear,  and  judgment 
and  costs  were  recorded  against  him. 

Shays  was  a  hired  man  at  Brookfield  at  the  opening  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. He  entered  the  arni}^  as  a  sergeant,  being  under  Washington 
near  New  York.  He  received  one  of  the  swords  which  Lafayette  dis- 
tributed to  American  officers.  It  is  said,  with  what  truth  we  know 
not,  that  he  was  for  a  time  ostracized  by  his  associate  officers,  be- 
cause he  sold  this  sword,  and  continued  to  use  his  old  one.  Shays 
eventual^  became  captain  in  the  5th  Massachusetts  regiment,  com- 
manded by  Rufus  Putnam,  and  his  record  at  Bunker  Hill,  Stony 
Point,  and  Saratoga  was  creditable.  Being  a  judgment  debtor,  and 
naturall}^  a  reckless  character,  he  did  not  allow  the  sales  of  property 
under  judgments  in  Pelham  to  pass  without  protest.  The  sale  of  the 
bedding  of  a  sick  woman  gave  him  a  good  text  for  tavern  harangues. 
The  Conkey  tavern  at  Pelham  was  made  vocal  with  these  "results" 
to  self-government ;  so  Avas  the  Clapp  tavern  in  East  Amherst,  as 
well  as  the  West  Springfield  tavern,  where  Luke  Day  —  legislator- 
at-large  and  captain  in  the  7th  Massachusetts  regiment  —  talked  by 
the  hour. 


316  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6. 

AVe  find  that  in  the  winter  term  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  in 
1784,  Moses  Bliss,  AVilliam  P^-nchon,  Luke  Chapih,  Isaac  INIorgau, 
Zenas  Parsons,  Abel  Chapin,  Jonathan  Dwight,  and  man}^  more  were 
crowding  on  each  other's  heels  to  secure  judgments  against  debtors, 
and  Colonel  AVorthington  and  others  foreclosed  mortgages  against  the 
same  unfortunate  class. 

The  February  term  of  the  Common  Pleas,  1786,  was  held  at  North- 
ampton, the  justices  present  being  Eleazer  Porter,  John  Bliss,  and 
Samuel  Mather.  No  less  than  three  hundred  and  thirty-three  cases, 
mainly  occasioned  by  the  poverty  of  the  unhappy  debtors,  were  called 
up,  and  judgment  obtained  or  action  deferred.  It  is  a  monotonous 
record  on  the  books,  but  was  dramatic  enough  in  results.  There  was 
a  general  wail  of  despair.  Jonathan  Dw^ight,  "  trader,  "  seciired,  for 
example,  a  judgment  of  £8  Ss.  9cL  and  £1  15,9.  lOf/.  in  costs  against 
Ebenezer  Rumrill,  of  Longmeadow,  and  Elihu  Murray,  of  Deerfield. 
Their  note  was  £7  15s.  Their  property  was  at  once  levied  upon.  We 
find  John  AYorthington,  Ephraim  Chapin,  Pliineas  Chapin,  Josel  Day, 
Luke  Bliss,  Closes  Bliss  were  plaintiffs  in  similar  actions.  The  Mays 
term  was  equally  full,  and  the  enraged  army  of  debtors  from  all  parts 
of  western  Massachusetts,  would  not  let  the  judges  proceed  with  busi- 
ness on  the  first  Tuesday  in  August.  Robert  Breck,  of  Northampton, 
clerk  of  the  court,  says  :  "  Early  in  the  ^Morning  of  this  Day,  there 
was  collected  a  considerable  number  of  Persons  under  Arms,  who 
paraded  near  the  Court-House,  with  a  professed  Design  to  prevent 
this  Court  from  sitting  ;  a  Committee  from  whom  presented  a  Petition 
requesting  the  Court  would  not  proceed  to  do  any  Business.  The 
Court  being  convinced  thereof,  thought  propper  to  open  the  same  at 
the  House  of  Captain  Samuel  Clark,  Innholder."  An  adjournment 
of  the  court  was  then  made  until  November,  but  the  insurgents  inter- 
rupted all  courts  until  Ma}^,  1787. 

The  elections  of  1786  were  hotly  contested.  Lawyers  became 
special  objects  of  contempt,  on  account  of  their  agency  in  securing 
judgments,  and  the  feeling  was  sufficient  to  exclude  most  of  the  pro- 


SPRIXGFIELD,    2036-1886.  317 

fession  from  the  House.  That  bod}^  was  found  to  be  completely  in 
the  hands  of  the  debtor  element.  They  filled  the  vacancies  in  the 
Senate  with  men  after  their  own  ilk  ;  they  passed  a  bill  admitting  to 
the  bar  all  persons  of  good  moral  character ;  they  limited  the  fees  of 
attorneys  ;  they  imposed  an  oath  on  lawyers,  to  be  taken  before  plead- 
ing, to  provide  against  the  cheating  of  clients  ;  and  they  attempted  to 
issue  more  paper  money.  But  the  Senate  was  proof  against  these 
vagaries,  and  the  session  ended  in  smoke. 

An  angry  county  convention  met  at  Worcester  August  15,  and  an- 
other at  Hatfield  on  the  22d,  the  latter  body  continuing  for  three  days. 
Their  demands  included  the  abolition  of  the  Senate,  the  Court  of  Com- 
mon Pleas,  and  General  Sessions  of  the  Peace,  the  lawyers'  fee  table, 
land  grants  to  government  officials,  unequal  taxation  as  between  polls 
and  estates  and  landed  and  mercantile  interests,  and  the  holding  of 
sessions  of  the  General  Court  at  Boston.  The  convention  also  voted 
in  favor  of  the  election  of  civil  officers  by  the  General  Court,  the 
emission  of  paper  money,  and  the  calling  of  a  State  constitutional 
convention.  Although  this  assembly  recommended  that  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Hampshire  county  abstain  from  "  mobs  and  unlawful  assem- 
blies, until  a  constitutional  method  of  redress  can  be  obtained,  "  the 
judges  at  Northampton,  four  days  later,  were  greeted  with  an  ugly 
crowd  armed  with  clubs  and  muskets.  They  surrounded  the  court- 
house, and  demanded  an  adjournment  sme  die.  After  an  informal 
session  at  a  tavern,  the  court  yielded,  and  adjourned  to  .Springfield 
on  the  second  Tuesday  of  November.  The  Court  of  Common  Pleas 
and  General  Sessions  of  the  Peace  at  Worcester  had  been  interrupted 
in  a  similar  way,  that  same  month,  and  a  most  alarming  state  of 
things  existed,  not  only  in  the  counties  of  Hampshire,  Worcester,  and 
Berkshire,  but  also  Bristol,  Middlesex,  and  other  eastern  counties, 
(tovernor  Bowdoin  issued  a  proclamation  calling  upon  all  people  to 
keep  the  peace.     The  Legislature  Avas  also  assembled   September  27. 

At  Concord,  Great  Barrington,  and  other  places  the  same  scenes 
were  enacted,  and  the  courts  compelled  to  adjourn.     General  Shepard, 


318 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


of  Westfield,  was  ordered  to  take  possession  of  the  Springfield  court- 
honse,  which  he  did  two  days  before  the  meeting  of  the  Legislature. 
The  Senate  passed  a  joint  resolution  denouncing  the  interruption  of 
the  courts,  approving  the  act  of  the  governor  in  calling  out  the  mili- 
tia, and  providing  for 

the  suspension  of  the        , ~ — 

habeas  corpus.  The 
House  refused  to 
agree  to  the  latter  co- 
ercive measure,  and 
hung  up  the  report. 
A  number  of  bills 
were  passed  b}^  the 
House  in  the  spirit  of 


Defending  the  Court-House  against  Shays's  Insurgents. 


the  insurgent  conventions.  The  Legislature  was  flooded  with  petitions 
from  suffering  towns ;  and  if  it  had  not  been  for  armed  resistance  in 
Hampshire  the  General  Court  would  not  have  passed,  as  they  did,  a 
bill  authorizing  the  governor  and  council  to  imprison  disorderly  per- 
sons without  bail  or  mainprise.  A  bill  offering  pardon  to  all  taking 
the  oath  of  allegiance  was  likewise  passed,  but  to  no  purpose. 

Daniel  Shays  and  Luke  Day  took  a  bold  step  at  Springfield,  Sep- 


SPRIXGFIELD,    2636-18S6.  319 

tember  20,  b}^  interfering  witli  the  session  of  tlie  Supreme  Judicial 
Court,  Chief  Justice  Cushing  presiding.  General  Shepard  discreetly 
prevented  a  collision  with  the  forces  of  Shays,  as  the}^  marched  and 
countermarched  before  the  Springfield  court-house,  or  rendezvoused 
at  Stebbins's  tavern,  in  North  ]Main  street ;  and  after  the  court  had 
adjourned,  and  had  also  almndoned  the  October  term  at  Cxreat  Bar- 
rhigton,  he  withdrew  his  militia  companies  to  the  arsenal,  and  the 
Shays  men  returned  to  their  homes,  well  pleased  that  no  indictments 
had  been  found  against  them.  Three  weeks  later  Daniel  Shays  issued 
an  order  from  Pelham  requiring  all  his  men  to  arm  and  furnish  them- 
selves with  sixty  rounds.  He  proceeded  to  Rutland,  and  superintended 
the  interruption  of  the  courts  at  Worcester  and  elsewhere  in  Decem- 
ber. He  turned  up  in  Springfield  on  the  22d  of  that  month,  and  found 
the  judges  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  an  easy  prey  to  the  clubs, 
drums,  muskets,  and  threats  of  his  men. 

The  legal  profession  continued  to  be  the  object  of  bitter  attack. 
Demagogues  and  lampoonists  plied  their  trade  industriously.  The 
following  lines  were  dropped  upon  the  floor  of  the  Springfield  court- 
house :  — 

"  If  Sampson's  foxes  tail  by  tail 

With  firebrands  were  set  running, 
My  God,  Avbat  havock  ranst  prevail, 
When  Lawyers"  tails  are  burning  I 

*'  Quoth  Jack,  '  Tis  true  as  any  fact 
Established  in  the  nation. 
Unless  their  tails  were  often  wet 
They'd  cause  the  conflagration.'" 


While  these  sorry  matters  divided  brother  and  brother  in  the  village 
of  Springfield,  and  set  friend  against  friend,  the  Springfield  town- 
meeting  was  not  swamped  by  the  debtor  part3^  It  voted  that  the  in- 
crease of  paper  money  at  a   time  when  it  was  already  a  burden  was 


320  SPRINGFIELD,    16S6-18S6. 

"  a  preposterous  and  ridiculous  remedy  ;  "  it  opposed  a  revision  of  the 
State  constitution  on  account  of  the  passions  of  the  people  so  danger- 
ously excited,  but  it  called  upon  the  Legislature  for  remedial  measures 
that  would  remove  the  "  imaginary  as  well  as  the  real  grievances  of 
the  people."  These  resolutions  had  been  passed  in  September,  when 
the  Legislature  met ;  but,  as  has  been  seen,  tlie}^  produced  no  effect 
upon  the  people. 

The  insurgents  found  hearing  in  the  papers,  and  loud-mouthed  men 
declaimed  in  the  taverns  of  Springfield  and  elsewhere  against  the  riot 
act,  the  expensive  mode  of  collecting  debts,  and  the  pa3mient  of  mon- 
eys raised  by  impost  and  excise  to  discharge  the  interest  of  govern- 
ment securities,  instead  of  the  foreign  debt.  These  agitators,  who 
sported  the  hemlock  twig,  had  a  scheme  of  repudiation  on  hand  con- 
cerning government  securities,  w^hich  speculators  had  bought  up  from 
2s.  to  66'.  Sd.  on  the  pound.  They  not  only  objected  to  applying  the 
revenues  from  impost  and  excise  to  meet  the  interest,  which  in  some 
cases  amounted  to  more  than  the  price  paid  for  the  securities,  but  they 
proposed  to  repudiate  or  refund  upon  the  basis  of  the  market  value  of 
the  securities.  Army  officers  who  remained  in  the  service  were  prom- 
ised by  Congress  half -pay  for  life,  but  this  w^as  soon  changed  to  pay 
for  five  j^ears  ;  and  this,  considering  the  depreciation  of  paper  money, 
made  the  fate  of  the  officers  doubly  unhappy.  This  conmuitation 
added  another  harsh  string  to  the  orchestral  discord  that  assaulted  the 
unhappy  air. 

Boston  itself  was  not  untinged  with  the  spirit  of  revolt,  and  the 
mone^^ed  men  of  that  city  found  that  the  time  had  come  for  them  to 
put  their  hands  in  their  pockets  and  furnish  the  sinews  of  war. 
After  it  had  been  decided  to  call  out  the  troops  the  commissary- 
general  reported  that  he  could  get  no  supplies  without  cash,  and  of 
this  the  treasury  was  empty.  General  Lincoln  immediately  visited  a 
prominent  Boston  club,  and  laid  the  case  before  them.  A  subscrip- 
tion w^as  started  the  following  morning,  the  governor  heading  the 
list,  and    the   money  was   raised    before   sunset.     An  army  of  four 


SPRTNGFTELD,    1636-1886.  321 

thousaud  five  hundred  was  collected  in  short  order,  and  General 
Lincoln  x^i'epared  for  his  long  march. 

To  show  how  some  of  the  towns  felt  the  strain,  it  may  be  said  that 
tlie  remote  town  of  Rowe,  December  4,  1786,  "  being  Repeatedly 
Requested  to  Join  in  the  Dispute  between  the  Court  and  those  called 
the  Regulating  party,"  but  not  being  able  to  get  at  the  merits  of  the 
controversy,  recommended  that  as  many  as  "  can  conveniently 
march  "  should  repair  to  Springfield,  and  after  hearing  the  particu- 
lars "  join  that  party  as  they  shall  Judge  to  be  in  the  right  of  the 
cause,  the}^  acting  entirely  for  themselves  in  that  matter." 

Governor  Bowdoin  in  his  letter  of  instructions  to  General  Lincoln 
said,  "  You  are  to  consider  ^^ourself  in  all  your  military  offensive 
operations  constantly  as  under  the  direction  of  the  civil  officer,  saving 
where  any  armed  force  shall  appear  and  oppose  your  marching  to 
execute  these  orders."  General  Lincoln  protested  against  these 
instructions,  being  placed  as  he  was  under  the  orders  of  the  local 
civil  authorities  wherever  he  might  be  ;  and  the  governor,  after  con- 
sulting the  council,  wrote  :  "  As  you  are  accompanied  by  Gentlemen 
of  the  Law,  who  are  also  Justices  of  the  Peace,  and  as  you  can 
have  a  number  of  Deputy  Sheriffs  to  attend  you  by  applying  to  the 
High  Sheriff  to  depute  some  of  your  own  Corps  or  others  as  you 
shall  judge  proper,  the  Council  apprehend  there  is  scarcely  a  sup- 
posable  case,  to  which  your  powers,  as  expressed  in  my  orders,  do 
not  extend." 

Lincoln  turned  up  with  his  battalions  at  Worcester,  January  22, 
and  protected  the  courts  with  little  difficulty ;  Daniel  Shays,  after 
sending  to  the  governor  a  pacific  message  intending  to  mislead  the 
authorities,  essayed  the  difficult  feat  of  capturing  the  federal  arsenal 
at  Springfield.  He  made  a  dash  from  Rutland  with  over  one  thousand 
men,  indifferently  armed  with  guns,  but  thoroughly  equipped  with  an 
incendiary  vocabulary.  He  reached  Wilbraham  on  the  24th,  and  the 
women  and  children  of  that  terrified  community  were  transferred  to 
Longmeadow  for  safety.     General  Lincoln  was  two  days'  march  in 


SPRINGFIELD,    1 636-1886. 


the  rear  of  Shays,  aud  the  plaD  was  to  overpower  General  Shepard 
before  the  eastern  troops  came  up.  Eli  Parsons,  with  four  hundred 
Berkshire  insurgents,  was  at  Chicopee  ;  while  Luke  Da}^  was  the  only 
man  among*  the  rebels  who  made  any  pretence  at  military  discipline. 
He  was  resting  under  arms  at  AYest  Springfield  with  a  company  of  four 
hundred,  whom  he  kept  in  good  temper  by  occasional  orations  of  the 
oppressions  of  the  government.  Shepard  was  thus  confronted  b}^ 
about  two  thousand  rebels,  twice  his  number  ;  but  there  was  divided 
counsel  in  the  ranks  of  the  enemy.  Sha3'S  ordered  Day  to  attack  on 
the  25th,  but  the  latter  said  he  Avould  not  be  ready  to  move  until 
the  26th.  This  answer  miscarried,  and  thus  Shays  advanced  on  the 
eventful  25th.  Day  meantime  demanded  that  the  militia  lay  down 
their  arms,  not  knowing  that  Shays  was  already  on  the  march. 

General  Shepard  was  doing  his  best  to  hold  an  ugly  people  in 
hand.  Public  sentiment  was  against  him,  although  in  this  immediate 
vicinity  the  majority  of  those  who  spoke  their  mind  were  in  favor  of 
the  government.  He  did  not  reall}^  take  in  the  situation,  however, 
until  about  a  fortnight  before  the  Armory  Hill  fight.  As  late  as 
Januar}^  12,  General  Shepard  wrote  Lincoln  from  Northampton  that 
two  hundred  or  three  hundred  men  would  be  ample  to  defend  the 
stores  at  Springfield,  and  that  he  himself  would  be  ready  to  march 
to  Worcester  to  defend  the  courts  there.  He  adds  :  "I  can  appre- 
hend no  danger  of  so  desperate  and  senseless  a  measure  as  burning 
towns  or  an  attack  on  unembodied  inhabitants ;  and  Springfield, 
besides  containing  stores  of  exceeding  great  consequence,  is  in  the 
line  of  intelligence  and  perhaps  of  march,  and  has  buildings  to 
accommodate  a  considerable  part  of  the  men,  which  are  to  be  found 
nowhere  else  in  this  county."  In  speaking  of  supplies  he  says  the 
rum  and  spirituous  liquors  must  be  forwarded  from  Boston,  as  there 
was  little  to  be  had  in  Hampshire  county ;  and  he  added  that  ' '  the 
men  cannot  be  kept  together  especially  in  this  season  without  a  daily 
allowance  of  spiritous  liquors." 

General  Shepard,  who  had  taken  possession  of  Springfield  on  the 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1S86.  323 

18tli,  found  that  all  the  insurgents  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county 
had  received  orders  to  assemble  at  Palmer,  and  that  the  Berkshire 
and  the  Northern  Hampshire  men  were  directed  to  march  to  Pelham, 
Greenwich,  and  Hardwick.  There  was  a  pressing  need  of  mone}"  at 
Springfield  for  the  support  of  the  soldiers,  not  a  cent  subscribed  at 
Boston  having  been  forwarded  here.  No  man  in  Springfield  felt 
disposed  to  loan  Shepard  money  to  any  amount.  He  asked  for 
at  least  £2,000,  and  he  remarked:  '' I  do  not  think  the  men  can 
be  kept  together  long  unless  they  are  pretty  well  supplied  with  rum, 
etc.,  and  a  little  mone}-."  Man}^  of  the  militia  in  this  county  were 
prevented  from  assembling  by  their  disaffected  neighbors.  As 
neither  Congress  nor  Creneral  Knox  had  given  permission  to  take 
arms  from  the  arsenal.  General  Shepard's  men  were  poorly  equipped. 
AVith  some  bitterness  Shepard  writes  to  Lincoln  the  day  after  taking 
possession  at  the  arsenal:  "  It  will  be  very  disagreeable  for  me  to 
be  defeated  by  such  a  wicked  banditti  when  I  am  guarding  the  arms 
of  the  Union,  and  command  for  the  purpose  of  supporting  the 
dignity  of  the  government  when  I  had  no  arms  to  defend  myself 
even  from  insult." 

Shepard  began  to  feel  very  much  concerned  on  the  21st,  and  he 
sent  to  General  Lincoln,  at  Worcester,  for  a  Hying  column  to  fol- 
low in  the  rear  of  Shays.  He  was  cut  oft"  from  Berkshire  b}'  the 
vigilance  of  Luke  Da}' ,  and  his  lack  of  communication  with  North- 
ampton led  Caleb  Strong,  of  Northampton,  to  write  Lincoln  that 
insurgents  had  taken  possession  of  Chicopee  bridge,  and  had  capt- 
ured a  provision  train  on  its  way  to  Springfield  for  the  militia. 
This  party  was  from  Berkshire,  and  was  commanded  by  Eli  Parsons. 
Shepard  himself  did  not  hear  of  this  until  the  23d.  The  weather 
was  bitterly  cold,  and  Shepard  called  upon  Lincoln  for  at  least  four 
hundred  men  to  be  forwarded  in  sleighs.  Shepard's  provisions  were 
limited  to  a  five  days'  stock,  and  the  loss  of  his  pro^^sion  train  was 
especially  disturbing.  He  had  ordered  "  two  loads  of  rum,"  to  be 
consigned  to  Jonathan  Dwight.     Money  was  also  scarce.     Not  only 


324  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

were  his  men  unpaid,  but  he  was  compelled  to  be  personall}'  respon- 
sible for  what  fuel  and  forage  he  needed.  It  must  have  been  dis- 
tressing to  Lincoln  to  be  informed  b}'  Shepard  that  his  force  "  could 
not  continue  in  the  field  much  longer  "  unless  money  was  sent  him. 
This  was  three  days  before  the  Shays  rencounter.  Maj.  Levi  Shepard, 
of  Northampton,  was  his  commissary,  and  Col.  William  Smith,  of 
Springfield,  the  quartermaster, — two  men  who  must  have  been  at 
their  wits'  end  to  meet  the  emergency,  with  a  disturbed  or  a  disaf- 
fected and  hostile  community  about  them.  Shepard  had  learned  that 
three  hundred  insurgents  from  Berkshire  lodged  at  Northampton  on 
the  night  of  the  2 2d.  He  was  not  at  all  reassured  by  the  silence  of 
Lincoln,  who  had  not  answered  the  five  messages  sent  east  in  quick 
succession.  Shays,  Day,  and  Parsons  had  completely  cut  Springfield 
off  from  all  approaches,  neither  troops  nor  supplies  being  obtainable, 
and  the  insurgents  were  enjoying  the  contents  of  Shepard's  pro^'i- 
sion  train.  He  would  have  retired  to  a  stronger  position  if  it  had 
not  been  for  the  arsenal.  As  it  was  he  wrote  Lincoln  once  more, 
saying,  "  If  you  cannot  grant  me  any  reinforcements  or  relief  I  shall 
try  to  work  out  my  own  salvation  before  it  is  too  late.  Shays's  and 
Day's  forces  are  about  two  thousand  strong.  Before  to-morrow  morn- 
ing I  expect  the  trial  will  be  made  to  force  me  from  this  post.  It  is 
no  time  for  delay  ;  your  operations  must  be  quick  and  spirited,  or 
they  will  answer  no  purpose.      That  man's  party  is  increasing  fast." 

Luke  Day  had  scoured  the  country  on  the  west  side,  and  his  sen- 
tries and  reconnoitring  parties  were  very  annoying.  He  had  even 
deployed  a  body  in  the  Longmeadow  direction  and  secured  many 
prisoners.  He  captured  General  Parks  and  Dr.  Whitney  in  sleighs, 
and  had  taken  a  loyal  man  in  Longmeadow  out  of  his  bed  and  shut 
him  up  with  other  prisoners  of  war  at  West  Springfield. 

Shays  was  at  Palmer  on  the  23d  with  eleven  hundred  noisy  men. 
The  insurgent  officers  held  a  council  of  war  there,  and  a  friend  of 
the  government  overheard  the  proceedings.  It  was  decided  to  join 
Day's  forces  and  to  attack  the  arsenal  before  Lincoln  could  come  to 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  325 

Sheparcl's  relief.  Lieut.  Aaron  Graves,  of  Palmer,  hastened  to 
inform  Lincoln  of  these  facts.  Adam  Wheeler  did  what  he  could  to 
detain  Lincoln,  by  asking  for  a  "  Conference"  in  order  to  "  bring 
about  a  Settlement  with  the  Government." 

Deputy  Sheriff  King  rode  through  the  crusted  snow  across  fields  from 
Wilbraham  to  the  Ston}-  Hill  road  on  the  25th,  drawing  blood  from  the 
legs  of  his  horse,  and  warned  General  Shepard  in  less  than  an  hour ; 
but  Shays  did  not  appear  on  the  Boston  road,  in  view  of  the  armor}^, 
until  late  in  the  afternoon.  Shepard  sent  several  messages  of  warning 
to  Shaj's  not  to  advance,  but  received  only  insolence  and  defiance  for 
his  pains.  At  a  hundred  yards  a  howitzer  was  discharged  each  side 
of  the  advancing  forces ;  and,  a  few  minutes  later,  a  shot,  at  short 
range,  was  levelled  directly  at  the  column.  Ezekiel  Root  and  Ariel 
Webster,  of  Gill,  and  John  Spicer,  of  Le3^den,  were  killed,  and  John 
Hunter,  of  Shelburne,  mortally  wounded.  A  scene  of  ridiculous  con- 
fusion followed.  Not  a  return  shot  was  fired  at  the  militia,  and 
about  twelve  hundred  very-much-affrighted  men  raced  for  their  dear 
lives  toward  Ludlow.  The  killed  and  wounded  were  taken  to  a 
house  opposite  the  site  of  Olivet  Church.  The  well  near  this  house  is 
still  to  be  seen  in  the  cellar  of  the  arsenal. 

General  Lincoln  reached  Springfield  on  the  27th  with  the  main 
body  of  his  troops.  At  nine  o'clock  of  the  25th  the  news  of  Shays's 
defeat  had  reached  Palmer,  and  Colonel  Baldwin  had  sent  word  to 
Lincoln  that  Captain  Shaw  reported  that  the  insurgents  made  the 
attack  about  four  o'clock,   "on  the  plain,  near  the  magazine." 

General  Lincoln  gives  the  following  account  of  the  movements  of 
his  troops  upon  reaching  Springfield :  — 

Part  of  them  with  the  hght  horse  I  moved  ujj  the  river  on  the  ice,  with  the  in- 
tention to  prevent  the  junction  of  Shays  &  Day,  &  if  that  was  not  attemiJted,  to 
cut  off  Day's  retreat.  With  the  other  part  of  the  troops  I  moved  across  the  river, 
in  front  of  his  guard.  They  soon  turned  out,  &  retreated  to  his  main  body. 
They  retreated  before  us  about  half  a  mile,  then  made  some  disposition  to  attack, 
but  soon  left  that  post  &  retreated  to  a  high  piece  of  ground  in  their  rear,  where 


326  S  PR  mo  FIELD,     163G-2SSG. 


thev  were  met  b}-  the  Liglit  liorse ;  thence  tliey  tied  in  every  direction,  but  most 
of  tliem  reached  Northampton,  about  20  miles  distant.  This  left  Shays'  right 
uncovered,  &  induced  him  to  move  the  same  night  to  Amherst,  tAventy  miles 
Korth  of  Springfield.  At  3  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  20th  we  moved  toward 
Amherst,  where  Shays  had  been  joined  by  Day.  On  our  arrival  in  the  borders 
of  the  town,  the  rear  of  Shays'  force  left  it ,  some  few  fell  into  our  hands ;  he 
then  took  post  at  Pelham,  east  from  Amlierst:  we  filed  off  to  the  left  &  took  post 
in  Hadlev  &  Hatfield  on  the  river. 


Lincoln  said  at  Pittsfield,  after  the  scattering  of  the  insurgents  in 
western  Massachusetts,  that  lie  found  that  "  the  people  in  general  had 
been  in  arms,  or  had  been  abettors  of  those  who  were  :  and  that  their 
obstinacy  was  not  exceeded  by  anything  but  their  ignorance  of  their 
own  situation."  Governor  Bowdoin  in  Februar}^  offered  £150  for  the 
arrest  of  Shays,  and  £100  each  for  the  arrest  of  Adam  Wheeler,  Luke 
Da}^,  and  Eli  Parsons.  Day  was  eventually  brought  to  Springfield, 
a  prisoner,  but  Shays  made  good  his  escape. 

This  region  round  about  was  for  some  weeks  made  lively  Avith  sun- 
dry martial  episodes.  Gen.  John  Peterson,  at  Stockbridge,with  three 
hundred  men,  was  so  anno3'ed  with  insurgents  hovering  around  and 
distressing  loyal  people,  that  he  made  a  raid  on  the  29th  of  January, 
and  succeeded  in  capturing  eighty-four  prisoners,  and  his  couriers 
reported  such  an  ugl^^  feeling  that  he  applied  to  Lincoln  for  more 
troops.  He  said  the  "deportment  of  the  Faction  in  this  county 
against  government  has  induced  a  kind  of  frenzy."  At  Hadley,  on 
February  1,  seven  soldiers  were  court-martialled  for  stealing  property 
from  private  citizens,  and  Avere  condemned  to  march  before  the  army 
on  parade  with  a  paper  pinned  to  their  breasts,  on  which  was  written, 
in  capital  letters,  "  FOR  PLUNDERING."  Col.  Gideon  Burt,  at 
Springfield,  informed  Lincoln  on  the  1st  of  February  that  it  would 
be  dangerous  to  withdraw  the  horse  from  the  town,  as  both  to  the 
east  and  west  hostility  to  the  government  continued.  He  had  found 
that  one  hundred  and  twenty  armed  insurgents  were  feeen  at  South- 
wick  on  the  road  to  AVestfield  on  the  last  da^^  of  March,  and  he  added, 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  S27 

"  It  is  very  difficult  for  me  to  obtain  meu  who  I  can  confide  in  to 
bring  &  carry  Intelligence  &  horse  who  will  parole  Roads."  Colonel 
Burt  was  an  energetic  officer,  however,  and  he  inspired  a  wholesome 
fear  of  the  militia  in  these  parts,  by  scouring  the  country  and  bring- 
ing in  prisoners.  Col.  Israel  Chapin  received  at  South  Hadley  ten  of 
Shays's  men,  captured  near  Ware  river  on  the  2d  of  February,  and 
upon  reaching  Springfield  he  took  a  much  brighter  view  of  things  than 
Burt  did.  Chapin  had  sent  his  troopers  as  far  north  as  Amherst  and 
as  far  east  as  Palmer,  so  he  reported  to  Lincoln  on  February  5.  lie 
made  the  expedition  with  four  hundred  men.  There  was  much  dis- 
content at  Springfield  among  the  soldiers,  as  the  prospect  of  peace 
increased  their  anxiety  to  return  to  their  neglected  families. 

The  last  of  February  a  band  of  insurgents  plundered  several  houses 
at  Stockbridge,  taking  several  prisoners,  and  marched  for  Great  Bar- 
rington,  but  were  soon  put  to  rout  by  the  Lenox  and  Stockbridge  mili- 
tia after  a  slight  brush,  in  which  two  or  three  on  each  side  were  killed. 
Gen.  John  Ashley,  who  was  in  command,  w^as  a  descendant  of  John 
Pynchon,  through  his  daughter  Mary,  w^ife  of  Joseph  Whiting,  whose 
daughter  married  Col.  John  Ashley,  of  Westfield,  grandfather  of 
Maj.-Gen.  John  Ashley.  On  March  31  sixty  of  Shays's  men  at- 
tacked the  house  of  Colonel  Dwight,  at  Belchertown,  and  carried  off  a 
young  man  in  charge  of  the  family,  but  did  not  capture  the  colonel. 
The  people  at  Belchertown  were  in  constant  communication  with 
Shays  at  Pelham,  and  the  loyal  portion  felt  themselves  much  exposed. 
Rev.  Justus  Forward,  informing  Lincoln  of  the  situation  there,  said 
that  Shays's  spies  were  constantly  in  the  place,  and  he  added  dryly, 
"  I  am  not  so  anxious  for  myself  as  for  others  ;  for  I  don't  think 
Shays  wants  a  Chaplain  !  " 

The  news  of  Shays's  defeat  determined  the  course  of  many  a  waver- 
ing town.  The  little  town  of  Granby,  for  example,  had  witnessed 
the  passing  of  armed  men  in  the  direction  of  Springfield,  and  five 
days  after  that  town  saw  the  affrighted  army  of  the  insurgents  sweep 
back  over  the  mountains,  suffering  the  discomforts  and  humiliations. 


32S  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6. 

with  none  of  the  glory,  of  defeat ;  a  full  town-meeting  was  held,  and 
resolutions  passed  appealing  to  General  Lincoln  to  spare  his  hand  and 
"  prevent  the  awful  destruction  of  Mankind."  Almost  the  moment 
that  the  Springfield  fight  reached  Leverett,  a  petition  to  Shepard  and 
Lincoln  Avas  drawn  up  to  the  same  effect,  lamenting  that  some  b}^  "a 
misguided  Zeal  have  fermented,  and  Kindled  Coles  of  strife  the  flame 
of  which  has  slain  a  Number,"  and  hoping  for  the  "  interposition  of 
Heaven,"  and  the  smile  of  the  "  God  of  Sabbaoth  "  upon  all  efforts 
to  restore  peace.  Shays,  at  Pelham,  was  meantime  sending  petitions 
for  pardon  to  Lincoln,  at  Hadley,  and  to  the  General  Court.  AVhat 
Governor  Bowdoin  thought  is  expressed  in  a  letter  to  Lincoln,  dated 
January  27  :  "  I  am  not  disappointed  in  your  having  applications  for 
the  compromision  of  affairs,  b}^  3ielding  up  some  part  of  the  Dignity 
and  spirit  of  Government,  in  exchange  for  a  certain  quantity  of  re- 
bellion, obstinacy  and  insolence  ;  but  my  dependence  on  the  good 
people  of  the  commonwealth  is  so  great  that  I  cannot  harbour  a 
thought  of  making  such  dishonorable  barter." 

The  petition  from  Pelham  to  the  GeneralCourt,  dated  Jauuar}^  30, 
and  signed  by  the  officers  of  Worcester,  Middlesex,  Hampshire,  and 
Berkshire  counties,  who  were  in  arms,  was  a  meek  affair.  It  "  humbly 
sheweth  that  your  Petitionners  being  senciable  that  we  have  been  in 
error  in  having  recourse  to  arms,  and  not  seeking  redress  in  a  consti- 
tutional way  "  etc. 

The  inhabitants  of  Colrain  also  appealed  to  Lincoln  for  "  clemency, 
—  a  most  darling  attribute  when  connected  with  Power  and  Legal 
authority,"  in  order  to  prevent  the  "  cutting  off  the  members  of  the 
natural  body."  The  selectmen  of  Williamstown  sent  resolutions  to 
both  contending  parties  recognizing  at  once  the  "  Necessity  and  im- 
portance of  supporting  the  government"  and  the  "equal  impor- 
tance" of  paying  attention  to  the  "Redress  of  all  Grievances  of 
the  People."  The  town  of  Conway,  in  its  appeal  to  Lincoln,  drew  a 
lurid  picture  of  civil  war  in  western  Massachusetts,  throwing  society 
"  into  a  State   Little   short  of  that  where   the  offenders  a2:ainst  the 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  329 

Majesty  of  Heaven  are  Doomed  to  suffer  according  to  their  crimes." 
General  Lincoln  is  then  asked  by  the  town  to  lift  his  "  eyes  up  to 
him  who  in  the  Heavens  beholding  the  Follies  of  men  overlooks 
their  Crimes  and  bestows  his  Favours  on  the  most  undeser\dng." 

These  quotations,  as  well  as  others  in  this  chapter,  are  taken  from 
manuscripts  in  the  possession  of  General  Lincoln's  descendants  which 
have  never  been  in  print  before.  The  answer  to  these  petitions  came 
from  Boston  in  the  shape  of  a  new  levy  of  troops,  and  there  followed 
a  vigorous  restoration  of  order  in  the  stalwart  spirit  of  Governor  Bow- 
doin's  proclamation  of  January  12,  in  which  he  asked  the  question: 
' '  Is  then  the  goodly  fabric  of  freedom  which  cost  us  so  much  blood 
and  treasure  so  soon  to  be  thrown  into  ruins  ?  "  All  insurgents  were 
forced  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance.  Those  pardoned  were  not  to 
hold  otiice  or  vote  for  three  years  ;  neither  could  they  legally  be  em- 
ployed as  schoolmasters  or  innkeepers.  This  act  of  the  Legislature 
provoked  a  protest  from  General  Lincoln.  "  In  her  right  hand,"  said 
the  general,  "  the  government  nuist  hold  out  such  terms  of  mere}'  in 
tlie  hour  of  success  with  such  evident  marks  of  a  disposition  to  for- 
give as  shall  apply  to  the  feelings  of  the  delinquents.  .  .  .  Al- 
though I  think  the  proceedings  of  the  Legislature  and  their  conduct 
will  make  a  rich  page  in  history,  yet  I  cannot  but  suppose  that  if  the 
number  of  the  disfranchised  had  been  less  the  public  peace  would 
have  been  equalW  safe  and  the  general  happiness  promoted.  The  act 
includes  so  great  a  description  of  persons  that  in  its  operation  many 
towns  will  be  disfranchised." 

The  sullen  feeling  in  this  part  of  the  State  survived  for  a  time. 
Indeed  it  was  at  one  time  considered  doubtful  whether  Massachusetts 
would  cast  her  lot  with  the  constitution  framed  b}^  the  convention 
that  met  in  the  following  May  at  Philadelphia  and  presided  over 
by  George  AVashington.  The  sentiment  in  Hampshire  county  was 
about  evenly  divided.  The  vote  in  the  convention  was  one  hundred 
and  eighty-seven  yeas  to  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  nays. 

It  was  in  the  nineties  when  General  Shepard  complained  that  he  had 


330 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-2886. 


not  been  repaid  by  the  State  for  his  services  in  defending  Springfield, 
and  he  added  :  ' '  As  to  private  injuries  and  insults  which  I  have  re- 
ceived, some  have  been  by  the  burning  of  my  fences  and  injuring  my 
woodlands  by  fire  bej^ond  recovery  for  many  years  ;  by  most  wantonl}^ 
as  well  as  cruelly  destroying  two  of  my  horses  by  cutting  off  their  ears 
and  digging  out  tlieir  eyes  before  they  were  killed ;  by  personally 
insulting  me  with  the  \\\q  epithet  of  '  a  murderer  of  brethren,'  and 
through  anonymous  letters  threatening  me  with  the  destruction  of  my 
dwelling-house  and  family  b}^  fire." 

But  the  time  did  finally  come  when  men  learned  to  have  enough 
faith  in  their  personal  convictions  to  be  content  to  promulgate  their 
views  unattended  by  coercive  weapons.  Then  it  was  that  the  ancient 
lampoon  became  history  :  —  " 


Politicians  of  all  kinds 

Who  are  not  yet  decided, 
May  see  how  Yankees  speak  their  minds 

And  vet  are  not  divided." 


CHAPTER    XV. 

1783-1800. 

Oeath  of  Rev.  Robert  Brock.  —  Pompey.  —  The  Chaug-e  in  Dress.  —  Carriages. — Post- 
master Moses  Church.  —  Death  of  Charles  Brewer.  —  Zebina  Stebbins.  —  Capt. 
Luke  Bliss.  — The  Dwights.  —  Merchant  Jonathan  Dwight.  — The  Old  Red  Store.  — 
Other  Merchants.  —  A  Glimpse  at  Main  Sti^eet.  —  Zenas  Parsons.  —  Taverns.  —  Maj. 
Joseph  Stebbins.  —  Earh'  Newspapers.  —  Post  Riders.  —  Samuel  Lyman.  —  Spring- 
field's College  Presidents.  —  The  Hitchcocks.  —  Col.  Thomas  Dwight.  —  Daniel  Lom- 
bard. —  Town  Officers.  —  Fourth  of  July  Celebration.  —  Timber  Trade.  —  More  War- 
rants of  Distress.  —  Town  Treasurer's  Report.  —  Canals.  —  Deserting  Soldiers  and 
Lawlessness. 

One  would  find  an  endless  source  of  diversion  in  putting  together 
the  stray  bits  of  information  touching  the  appearance  of  the  village 
between  the  Revolution  and  the  present  century.  It  was  a  common 
thing  in  those  days  to  paint  dwelling-houses  bright  red,  or  even  yel- 
low, which,  with  the  eighteenth  century  costuming,  must  have  given  a 
graphic  appearance  to  Main  street.  Before  the  Revolution  Merchant 
Storer,  of  Boston,  sent  a  bill  of  goods  to  George  and  Robert  Breck. 
In  an  accompanying  note  Mr.  Storer  said,  by  way  of  business : 
"  The  crimson  Snail  &  Bandanna  handkfs  I  could  not  procure,  tho' 
I  tried  at  sundry  places  —  nor  could  I  get  a  scarlet  AVhitney  which  I 
thought  suitable  for  a  Great  Coat."  In  the  list  sent  were  pieces  of 
crunson  broadcloth,  green  durant,  blue  serge,  crunson  bays,  and  black 
taffeta.  This  letter,  curiously  enough,  was  found  floating  down  the 
Connecticut  river  in  1887  by  a  Springfield  canoeist.  The  paper  had 
been  thrown  upon  the  river-bank  after  the  demolition  of  an  old  house, 
and  the  rising  water  had  swept  it  away. 

Rev.  Mr.  Breck  died  Friday  forenoon  of  April  23,  1784,  in  his  sev- 
enty-first year.    The  burial  took  place  on  Monday  the  26th,  the  clergy 


332  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

from  siirroiiiicling  towns  aud  iiiaii}^  outside  of  Springfield  being  present. 
The  funeral  of  his  predecessor,  Mr.  Brewer,  was  as  different  as  pos- 
sible. Little  or  no  religious  services  attended  the  last  rites  previous 
to  1730.  It  was  then  considered  Romish  and  vicious.  The  dress, 
too,  was  more  the  garb  of  the  severely  righteous.  But  the  scene  at 
Mr.  Breck's  funeral  was  one  of  comparative  prismatic  mourning.  Silk 
stockings  and  silver  buckles,  and  lace  and  powder,  were  bowed  in 
grief  ;  women,  too,  wore  garments  of  silk,  —  faded  and  worn,  to  be 
sure,  for  the  times  were  hard.  The  old  first  parish  meeting-house 
was  draped  in  black.  Rev.  Mr.  Lathrop  delivered  the  funeral  ser- 
mon, and  a  solemn  anthem  was  sung.  The  whole  assembl}^  followed 
the  body  to  the  grave.  Mr.  Breck  had  four  children  by  his  wife 
Eunice  Brew^er,  who  died  in  1767.  Two  sons  and  a  daughter  —  wife 
of  Rev.  Joseph  AVhitney,  of  Pomfret, — survived  him.  Mr.  Breck 
had  married  for  a  second  wife,  in  1773,  the  widow  of  Dr.  Edward 
Dorr,  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  daughter  of  Governor  Talcott.  Breck  was 
a  hard  student  and  a  close  reasoner.  It  has  been  said  of  him  that 
"  history  was  his  study."  He  was  an  easy  and  entertaining  conver- 
sationalist, and  "  affable  without  meanness."  This  is  also  said  of 
him  by  one  who  knew  him  personally :  ' '  His  religious  sentiments 
were  formed  upon  a  careful  examination  of  the  sacred  scriptures, 
without  attachment  to  sects  or  systems.  His  turn  of  thinking  was 
liberal,  yet  pious  ;  exalted,  yet  humble.  His  sense  of  the  deplorable 
weakness  and  corruption  of  human  nature  led  him  to  admire  the 
gracious  provisions  of  the  gospel." 

Mr.  Breck  lived  in  the  parsonage  (Fallon's  block) ,  where  his  digni- 
fied carriage,  tie-wig,  shoe-buckles,  silk  stockings,  and  a  slave  attend- 
ant served  to  fill  out  the  ancient  notion  of  ministerial  importance. 
The  old  Breck  residence  is  now  doing  dut}^  as  a  laundry  (Hillman 
street) .  The  Doctors  Breck  of  the  present  day  are  descendants  of  a 
brother  of  Rev.  Robert  Breck. 

Rev.  Mr.  Breck  left  at  his  death  a  negro  slave  named  Pompey.  He 
was  not  technically  a  slave,  however,  as  the  State  constitution  had,  by 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  333 

implication,  abolished  slavery.  Pompey  was  probably  the  last  Spriug- 
field  slave  to  pass  away,  his  death  uot  taking  place  until  1813.  Mrs. 
Breck  returned  to  her  home  at  Hartford  after  the  death  of  her  hus- 
band, and  Pompey  accompanied  her,  and  served  her  faithfully  until 
she  died,  in  1798.  The  old  darkey  was  thus  left  alone,  and  he  would 
occasionally  pay  a  visit  to  this  region  and  Northampton  among 
"  Massa  George's  folks  and  Massa  Robert's  folks." 

Returning  to  the  subject  of  dress,  there  is  evidence  that  the  new 
king,  the  populace,  had  a  penchant  for  finery,  even  in  that  period  of 
hardship  and  toil.  There  were  reigning  beauties  in  those  days,  of 
whom  one  local  doggerilist  wrote  out  a  recipe  :  — 

"  Let  her  flaps  fly  behind  for  a  yard  at  the  least, 
Let  her  curls  meet  just  under  her  chin ; 
Let  these  curls  be  supported  to  keep  up  the  jest, 
With  an  hundred  instead  of  one  pin. 

"  Let  her  gown  be  tucked  up  to  the  hip  on  each  side. 
Shoes  too  high,  or  to  walk,  or  to  jump; 
And  to  deck  the  sweet  creature  complete  for  a  bride, 
Let  the  cork-cutter  make  her  a  rump." 

When  the  Revolution  opened,  scarlet  cloaks  were  worn  by  women, 
also  blue  silk  cloaks,  richly  flowered.  There  were  also  the  furbelow 
scarf,  camlet  riding-hood,  long  silk  hood,  and  white  hoods  trimmed 
with  lace,  and  the  calash.  The  girls  of  families  of  more  moderate 
means  had  hoods  of  coarser  material,  and  calico  gowns.  Woollen 
petticoats  with  calico  borders  were  common.  It  was  a  rare  daughter 
who  could  not  ride  horseback  either  single  or  on  pillion.  Tourists 
from  abroad  speak  of  these  healthy-faced  girls  racing  down  a  country 
road  in  white  aprons  and  calico  gowns. 

Both  men  and  women  patronized  the  hair-dresser.  William  Doyle 
kept  a  fashionable  place  after  the  Revolution,  opposite  Zenas  Par- 
sons's  tavern,  and  a  little  north  of  the   court-house.     He  made  wigs. 


334  SPRIXGFIELD,    1G3G-1SS6. 


''  attended  the  call  of  ladies,"  aud  kept  a  stock  of  cushions  and  curls, 
'^  false  clubbs"  for  gentlemen,  full-bottomed  wigs,  periwigs,  and 
"  scratches." 

We  would  give  much  to  see  reproduced  a  Springfield  scene  of  that 
age,  either  on  Sunday  morning,  or  during  court  week,  or  even  on  the 
arrival  of  the  stage.  On  Fridays  (1783)  the  Hartford  ''  stage  wag- 
gon "  left  David  Bull's  inn  for  Parsons's  tavern  (in  Springfield), 
aud  returned  Saturdays.  A  little  later  (1788)  Reuben  Sikes  ran 
a  line  of  stages  from  New  York  to  Boston,  through  Springfield,  — 
three  times  weekly  in  summer,  —  the  fare  being  three  3s.  per  mile. 
It  was  an  event  of  no  small  account,  —  the  arrival  and  departure  of 
such  ladies  and  gentlemen  as  were  equal  to  the  expense  of  travel.  It 
was  not  permitted  every  one  to  own  a  carriage.  They  were  heavily 
taxed.  In  1791  a  fall-back  chaise  was  taxed  106-.,  a  stand-up  chaise 
6s.,  and  a  sulky  or  riding  chair  46'.  Those  taxed  as  owners  of  fall- 
back chaises  m  1791  were:  Zebina  Stebbins,  Samuel  Lyman,  Capt. 
George  Pynchon,  John  AVorthington,  Col.  William  Smith,  William 
Pynchon,  Lieut.  Charles  Sheldon,  Jonathan  Dwight,  Jacob  Sargeant, 
Col.  Joseph  Williams,  Thomas  Dwight,  Alexander  Bliss,  Joseph 
Stebbins,  Jr.,  Moses  Church,  Zenas  Parsons,  Moses  Bliss,  and  Daniel 
Lombard,  Jr.  The  ''  whisky,  "  or  two- wheeled  sulky,  was  owned  by 
Zebina  Stebbins  and  Colonel  Smith.  The  three-wheeled  sulky  was 
owned  by  John  Worthington,  Col.  Joseph  Williams,  aud  Moses  Bliss  ; 
and  common  chairs  were  owned  by  Judah  Chapin,  John  Pynchon, 
Capt.  James  Byers,  Lieut.  Jacob  Bliss,  and  Gad  Horton. 

Moses  Church's  place  (Five-Cent  Savings-bank)  was  north  of  the 
court-house.  This  well-known  and  honored  individual  sold  hats  on 
one  side  of  his  little  shop,  and  officiated  as  postmaster  on  the  other. 
Opposite  his  office  (Tinkham's)  Church  ran  a  tavern,  and  he  filled, 
all  in  all,  a  large  place  in  the  community.  Church  inherited  the  hat 
business  from  his  father,  and  passed  it  down  to  his  son.  Harvey  S. 
Sanderson  took  the  business  from  Jonas  Coolidge,  who  took  it  from 
the  Churches  in  1796.     Jeduthan  Sanderson,  father  of  Mr.  Sanderson, 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  335 

lived  ou  the  site  of  the  Boston  &  Albany  depot.  He  learned  the 
cooper's  trade  in  the  shop  of  Captain  Alexander  (near  the  carriage- 
shop  of  David  Smith).  The  captain,  like  all  his  calling,  went  about 
from  house  to  house  hooping  barrels. 

We  have  referred  to  Dr.  Breck's  notable  funeral  in  1784.  The 
previous  year  Springfield  was  called  to  the  solemn  service  of 
burying  another  notable  man.  Dr.  Charles  Pynchon,  whose  name 
figures  often  in  the  local  annals.  He  lived  on  the  south  side  of 
Ferry  lane  (Cypress  street)  near  the  corner  of  Main,  and  he  owned 
the  building  on  the  corner,  having  there  an  ofiice  and  an  apothecary's 
shop.  In  former  3^ears  Ferr^^  lane  promised  to  be  the  business 
centre  of  the  town,  and  even  at  that  late  date  it  had  its  ambitions. 
Dr.  Pynchon  had  a  wide  practice  all  through  the  valley.  Opposite 
the  doctor's  office  Zebina  Stebbins  had  his  residence  as  well  as  a 
dry-goods  store.  Mr.  Stebbins  was  a  good  deal  of  a  character, 
thrifty  in  business,  and  faithful  to  all  trusts.  He  was  overseer  of 
the  poor,  and  if  he  once  proposed  to  make  up  a  job-lot  of  coffins 
for  a  group  of  aged  unfortunates  under  his  charge,  pending  their 
demise,  it  was  because  he  had  an  eye  to  finance,  and  not  because  he 
was  lacking  in  qualities  of  heart.  Zebina  desired  finally  to  get  rid 
of  the  building  on  the  south  side  of  the  lane.  In  1785  this  building 
was  moved  to  the  east  side  of  Main  street.  It  contained  a  printing 
establishment,  and  there  also  Gad  Stebbins  had  his  apothecary"  shop. 
Dr.  Stebbins  sold  also  tea,  coffee,  needles,  and  Bibles. 

The  death  of  Dr.  Charles  Pynchon  had  been  preceded  in  January 
by  the  death  of  the  venerable  William  Pynchon,  aged  eighty,  who 
had  spent  his  last  da3's  with  William,  his  son  (Haynes's  hotel  site), 
familiarly  known  as  Major  William.  The  major's  brother  John  lived 
opposite,  on  the  east  side  of  the  street,  dying  also  at  an  advanced 
age  (1826,  aged  eighty- four ) . 

There  are  still  living  a  few  persons  who  will  remember  John 
Pynchon,  as  he  appeared  on  the  streets  with  cocked  hat  and  small 
clothes.     The  boys  were  his  friends,  as  they  used  to  ride  his  horse 


336  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

without  molestation  when  turned  out  to  pasture.  Above  John 
Pynchon's  house  on  the  east  side  there  were  standing  probably  the 
old  Lloyd  house  (opposite  the  Lombard  place),  then  the  Stebbins 
house,  and  the  chair- factory  of  Horace  Lee,  father  of  Postmaster 
Henry  Lee. 

IMajor  William  died  in  1808.  As  we  have  seen  by  the  records,  he 
had  been  register  of  deeds,  treasurer,  town-clerk,  magistrate,  and 
selectman.  His  residence  was  finally  moved  back  on  Pynchon  street, 
next  to  the  old  Methodist  church.  The  old  garrison-house  of  the 
Pynchons,  built  by  the  "worshipful  Major  "in  1660,  was  occupied 
by  Edward  Pynchon,  magistrate,  where  he  died  in  1777.  George 
Pynchon  lived  next  house  to  the  north.  Walter  Pynchon  had  become 
a  merchant  at  Great  Barrington. 

Another  important  family,  as  we  have  learned,  was  the  Bliss 
family.  Luke  Bliss  lived  on  the  south  corner  of  Main  and  State. 
He  was  a  son  of  Capt.  Luke  Bliss,  and  brother  of  the  Jonathan 
Bliss  who  became  chief-justice  of  the  province  of  New  Brunswick. 
Luke  Bliss  was  a  courtly  gentleman,  a  solemn  and  impressive  singer, 
and  thus  an  ideal  choir-leader.  His  daughter  became  the  wife  of 
Solomon  Warriuer,  the  famous  choir -leader  of  the  early  part  of  this 
century.  His  brother,  Jonathan  Bliss,  who  had  studied  law  with 
Colonel  Worthington,  was  a  "  rescinder"  in  the  Legislature  of  1768. 
This  was  the  beginning  of  the  serious  break  with  the  town  which 
ended  in  his  retirement  to  England.  Moses  Bliss,  the  merchant, 
lived  in  South  Main  street  (Main  and  Bliss) . 

The  business  rivalry  among  the  merchants  at  this  time  interests  us, 
as  out  of  it  came  the  establishment  of  a  new  family.  The  Dmghts 
were  planted  on  Springfield  soil  long  before  the  Revolution.  Col. 
Josiah  Dwight,  son  of  Capt.  Henry  Dwight,  of  Hatfield,  and  husband 
of  Sarah  Pynchon  (daughter  of  Col.  William  Pynchon  and  Catharine 
Brewer),  was  a  man  of  note,  dying  in  Springfield  in  1768.  He  was 
a  militia  officer,  a  Common  Pleas  judge,  and  merchant.  He  was  in- 
terested in  an  iron  foundry,  and  was  a  manufacturer  of  potash.     He 


SPRINGFIELD,    I6S6-1SS6.  337 

died  worth  some  S50,000.  His  brother,  Edmund  Dwight,  a  Halifax 
merchant  of  moderate  means,  sent  a  ten  years'  old  son  (born  at 
Boston)  to  the  colonel  at  Springfield  in  1753.  The  lad's  name  was 
Jonathan  ;  he  grew^  up  in  his  uncle's  store,  succeeded  to  his  business, 
managed  his  estate,  and  perfected  the  foundation  on  which  the 
D wight  family  in  Springfield  have  since  builded.  Jonathan  D wight 
was  of  medium  size,  engaging  in  his  manners,  a  great  smoker,  a  fine 
business  man,  and  thoroughly  honorable,  upright,  and  church-going 
in  his  habits.  His  first  wife  was  Margaret  Ashley,  of  Westfield,  to 
whom,  as  with  the  case  of  many  other  successful  men,  was  due  an 
appreciable  portion  of  his  social  and  business  progress. 

We  refrain  from  being  led  into  a  sketch  of  this  interesting  and 
capable  family  of  the  Dwights,  so  many  representatives  of  which 
have  risen  to  such  substantial  importance  in  New  PLngland.  The 
biographies  of  Capt.  Timothy  Dwight,  of  Northampton,  Capt.  Henry 
Dwight,  of  Hatfield,  Gen.  Joseph  Dwight,  of  Stockbridge,  Edmund 
Dwight,  of  Boston,  and  President  Timothy  Dwight,  of  Yale  College, 
have  all  been  well  written.  When  Merchant  Jonathan  Dwight  re- 
sumed business  during  the  Revolution,  his  dry  goods,  his  rock  salt, 
his  cherry  rum,  and  his  imported  stock  were  in  a  red  dwelhng- 
house  fixed  over  as  store  on  the  north-east  corner  of  the  town  street 
and  the  Boston  road  (State  street).  Thus  there  grew  a  rivalry 
between  the  tv>o  extremes  of  the  town  for  commercial  prestige.  At 
this  time  the  thirty-foot  causeway  still  bridged  the  marsh ;  the  rear 
of  Dwight' s  and  other  buildings  was  confronted  by  a  little  wilderness 
of  hassocks,  bushes,  springs,  and  stumps.  This  was  the  well-known 
•'  Hasseky  marish."  3Ir.  Dwight  lived  opposite  his  store  on  the 
west  side  of  Main  street  in  a  conspicuous  white  house.  This  resi- 
dence was  moved  up  the  street  (Bridge)  some  years  later,  and  finally 
burned. 

The  "Old  Red  House"  of  Jonathan  Dwight  lives  in  storied 
memor}'.  Here  used  to  gather  for  converse  and  to  smoke  and  to 
trade  people   of  all   classes  and  conditions.     This  red  building  was 


338  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

removed  in  1799,  and  a  more  commodious  one  built.  The  old  store 
was  drawn  by  long  lines  of  oxen  up  Main  street  to  Mr.  Dwight's 
meadow  (Barnes's  lot),  an  event  which  greatly  impressed  the  school 
children  of  that  day.  When  Jonathan's  son,  James  Scutt  Dwight, 
grew  up  (Master  James  they  called  him) ,  he  was  taken  in  as  a 
partner.  This  was  about  1790.  At  the  time  of  the  building  of 
1799  the  firm  was  Jonathan  Dwight  &  Son.  About  1804  Jonathan 
Dwight  withdrew  from  the  firm,  the  name  of  Henry,  the  youngest 
son,  was  added,  and  the  firm  was  James  &  Henry  Dwight.  About 
1809  Henry  removed  to  Utica,  N.Y.,  and  the  firm  of  J.  &  E.  Dwight 
was  formed,  embracing  James  Scutt,  Edmund  and  Jonathan  Dwight, 
Jr.,  and  this  was  dissolved  by  the  death  of  James  in  1822.  The 
firm  had  distributing  branches  at  Huntington,  Greenfield,  South 
Hadley  Falls,  Northampton,  and  Westfield.  In  November,  1813, 
they  sent  J.  D.  Whitney,  of  Northampton,  to  England  during  the 
war  as  their  agent  to  purchase  goods,  to  be  ready  to  ship  on  a  return 
of  peace.  In  1815  they  opened  a  store  in  Boston  (Broad  street)  ; 
goods  to  a  large  amount  were  stored  and  sold  there  and  distributed 
to  the  branches,  under  the  management  of  William  H.  and  J.  W. 
Dwight. 

One  cannot  dismiss  the  Dwight  corner  without  indulging  in  a  little 
antiquarian  dissipation.  At  that  old  corner  resided  the  spirit  of  the- 
ology, politics,  and  business.  If  the  ideas  of  trade  were  progressive 
and  full  of  faith  in  the  town,  the  religion  and  politics  were  both  of  a 
reactionary  nature  at  times  ;  and  who  will  dispute  us  in  saying  that 
over  the  Dwight  counter  local  toryism  gradually  died  out  and  local 
Unitarianism  was  born  ? 

The  new  Dwight  building  was  of  brick,  two  stories,  but  another 
story  was  added  later.  On  the  south  side  of  the  causeway,  near  Main 
street,  a  large  watering-trough  blocked  up  the  street  somewhat,  espe- 
cially on  the  days  when  the  farmers  drove  to  the  Dwight  corner  to 
trade.  The  Luke  Bliss  residence,  on  the  corner,  near  this  watering- 
trough,  was  an  ancient  two-story  brown  house,  and  attached  thereto 


340  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6. 

was  a  wood-colored  building  facing  Main  street.  Here  Jonathan  Bliss 
had  his  law  office,  and  it  ma}'  be  added  that  here  Oliver  B.  Morris 
followed  his  profession  ;  still  later  it  resounded  to  the  shoemaker's 
hammer  of  Elijah  Blake.  In  a  room  on  the  first  story  Ralph  Snow, 
silversmith,  had  worked.  Col.  Thomas  Dwight,  Colonel  Worthington, 
John  Hooker,  and  Jonathan  Dwight  joined  forces  and  started  a  gin 
distillery  on  Main  street  (near  Cross  street)  in  1792,  there  being  a 
malt-house  in  the  meadow  in  the  rear.  This  was  subsequently  removed 
south  of  the  present  West  Central  street.  But  these  business  matters 
belong  more  properly  to  the  record  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

The  Dwight  store,  immediately  after  the  Revolution,  was  by  no 
means  the  leading  mercantile  establishment.  Smith  &  Sheldon  were 
doing  a  thriving  business  nearly  opposite  the  court-house  (about  the 
site  of  the  Chicopee  bank) .  Their  stock  ranged  from  broadcloths  to 
shoe  buckles,  and  from  crockery  and  firelocks  to  rum  and  French  candy. 
They  took  flour,  beef,  pork,  and  country  produce  in  pay.  The  Smith 
of  this  firm  was  Col.  AYilliam  Smith,  his  residence  being  farther  up 
the  street  (Main  and  Bridge).  -Charles  Sheldon,  his  partner,  built  the 
Henry  Fuller  house  on  Elm  street.  Colonel  Smith  was  a  revolution- 
ary officer.  His  residence  and  barn  were  built  by  Thomas  Hunt, 
of  Stockbridge,  Smith  securing  it  in  1787.  Sheldon  seems  to  have 
taken  the  business  finally,  while  Smith  set  up  for  himself  on  the 
east  side  of  the  street.  There  was  another  firm,  J.  M.  Burt  &  Co., 
second  door  south  of  the  court-house  ;  and  Harris  &  Hunt  was  still 
another  firm  during  the  Revolution,  but  in  1784  the  partnership  was 
dissolved,  and  Thomas  Hunt  set  up  for  himself,  first  door  north  of  the 
court-house.  He  was  an  importer  of  English  goods,  like  all  of  his 
competitors  ;  but  probably  none  of  them  did  a  business  larger  than 
that  of  Justin  Ely,  of  West  Springfield,  which  at  that  time  had  a 
larger  population  than  the  parent  town.  AVomen  often  crossed  over 
the  river  in  order  to  shop  at  Ely's  store.  One  of  Ely's  clerks,  Jona- 
than Hunt,  of  California,  who  married  one  of  Dr.  Osgood's 
daughters,  is  still  living. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  341 

Hartford  merchants  made  bids  for  Springfield  trade  by  advertising 
locally  their  goods,  to  be  paid  in  "  bills  of  exchange,  loan  office  cer- 
tificates, Massachusetts  State  notes,  the  Honorable  Robert  Morris's 
notes,  bank  notes,  flour,  pork,  beef,  and  grain  of  all  sorts ;  "  and 
Smith  &  Sheldon  answered  this  by  advertising  to  accept  for  goods  in 
addition  to  the  above  "  consolidated  and  Depreciated  notes."  These 
certificates  were  the  quartermaster's  certificates,  over  which  there  was 
much  trouble  (1783). 

Daniel  Lombard  ran  a  country  store  and  saddler's  shop  north  of 
the  court-house.  He  bought  the  present  Justin  Lombard  property 
of  Gideon  and  Daniel  Parsons  in  1784,  and  died  in  1795.  Joel 
Marble  kept  a  drug  store  in  1783,  one  door  south  of  the  court- 
house. In  his  store  was  a  counter  devoted  to  books  and  sundry 
small  articles,  and  he  received  in  lieu  of  money,  wheat,  rye, 
Indian  corn,  and  beeswax.  Among  business  men  also  ma}^  be  noted 
R.  Smith,  clockmaker,  south  of  the  court-house  ;  Burden,  another 
clockmaker,  in  Ferry  Lane  ;  John  Mun,  saddler  ;  Alexander  Bhss, 
currier's  shop  ;  William  Warland,  chaise-maker,  near  the  Great  Ferry  ; 
Thomas  Sargeant,  watch  business  ;  and  so  on. 

Of  the  taverns  of  that  period  the  old  stand  of  Zenas  Parsons  is  the 
best  known.  The  elm  in  the  south-east  corner  of  the  present  Court 
square  stood  in  front  of  this  tavern,  there  being  just  room  for  the 
"  stage  waggon"  between  it  and  the  hotel  veranda.  There  were  ex- 
tensive barns  and  sheds  in  the  rear.  Here  auctions  were  frequently 
held,  and  on  training-day  young  men  often  tried  their  powers  of 
wrestling.  Over  the  shed  was  a  long  dance-hall,  much  used  by  the 
young  people.  It  is  generally  believed  that  General  Washington  put 
up  at  this  tavern  either  when  he  passed  through  here  to  take  command 
at  Cambridge,  or  when  he  visited  the  armory  after  the  war.  At  any 
rate,  the  old  building  now  standing  at  the  west  end  of  Court  street  is 
a  reminder  of  the  tradition,  and  is  honored  by  this  generation  ac- 
cordingly. Back  of  the  tavern,  facing  on  Elm  street,  stood  the  first 
church. 


342  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

The  old  place  known  to  the  older  portion  of  the  community  as  the 
Dwight  homestead,  corner  of  State  and  Maple,  was  the  site  of  Capt. 
Charles  Colton's  tavern,  a  pre-revolutionary  hostelry,  which  was  a 
popular  resort.  The  barn  and  horse-sheds  were  between  the  inn  and 
Maple  street. 

The  Worthington  property  (between  Bridge  and  AVorthington 
streets,  and  from  Spring  street  to  the  river)  was  the  original  Jehu 
Burr  allotment,  and  passed  through  Elizur  Holyoke  to  Lieut.  John 
AYorthingtou,  who  died  in  1774,  and  in  turn  to  Lawyer  John  Worth- 
iugton.     The  lieutenant  kept  a  hotel  for  many  years  on  this  propert3^ 

The  death  of  Eev.  Robert  Breck  brought  a  young- candidate  for  the 
first  parish  pulpit,  he  riding  from  Cambridge  on  horseback.  He 
stopped  at  the  Five-Mile  house,  and  followed  a  bridle-path  through 
the  woods  to  the  town.  He  passed  a  red  building  or  two  on  "  Ord- 
nance hill,"  and  an  occasional  farm-house  on  State  street  must  have 
presented  a  somewhat  primeval  appearance.  He  rode  over  the 
"  causeway,"  and  hitched  his  horse  in  front  of  Jonathan  Dwight's 
white  house.  This  was  Rev.  Bezaleel  Howard,  of  revered  memory. 
It  is  understood  that  he  used  to  say  the  town  had  a  ver}^  neglected 
appearance  —  buildings  out  of  repair,  the  place  showing  generally 
the  effects  of  povert}-,  that  was  the  result  of  war.  Mr.  Howard  was 
ordained  in  1785. 

The  Hampshire  "Herald"  says,  that  on  Monday,  April  27,  Mr. 
Howard  was  ordained  before  "  a  numerous,  grave,  and  attentive  audi- 
ence." Prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  Joseph  AYhitney,  of  Pomfret,  and 
a  discourse  was  delivered  by  Rev.  Timothy  Hillyard,  of  Cambridge, 
who  appears  to  have  visited  this  region  frequently,  and  to  have  had 
many  friends  here. 

Ebenezer  Stebbins,  who  lived  where  P^mery  Court  now  is,  was  an- 
other innholder.  A  barn  in  the  rear  of  his  establishment  was  turned 
into  a  cartridge  factory  during  the  Revolution.  Just  before  the  war, 
Maj.  Joseph  Stebbins,  son  of  the  Joseph  Stebbins  who  built  a  house 
in  upper  Main  street  (CHnton) ,  built  a  tavern  about  opposite  the  old 


SPRINGFIELD,    26S6-1SS6.  343 

Morgan  road  (Carew).  This  old  hostelry  is  associated  with  the 
Shays's  rebellion,  the  insurgents  using  it  as  their  head-quarters ; 
and  with  privateering  also,  the  cellar  being  the  repository  of  booty 
secured  on  the  high  seas.  Joseph  and  Zebina  Stebbins  set  out  the 
trees  that  are  now  such  a  picturesque  feature  of  that  part  of  Main 
street. 

Many  anecdotes  occasioned  by  depreciated  Continental  currency 
cling  to  all  the  old  tavern  sites.  A  party  once  put  up  with  Zenas 
Parsons  after  learning  from  him  that  he  took  Continental  money. 
Their  surprise  was  unbounded  when  a  bill  of  several  hundred  dollars 
was  presented.  They  asked  Parsons  if  he  had  not  told  him  that  he 
accepted  Continental  money,  and  he  replied  that  he  had,  and  "  ad — d 
lot  of  it  too."  Joseph  Stebbins  was  intrusted  with  a  large  amount  of 
this  money  by  an  army  pa^nnaster,  and  it  was  held  in  safe-keeping 
until  it  was  not  worth  asking  for. 

Captain  Lamb  and  Capt.  John  Morgan  were  also  imiholders  in  this 
town  after  the  Revolution.  We  can  hardly  realize  the  full  place 
which  the  tavern  occupied  in  those  days. 

The  English  were  naturally  a  tavern-haunting  people.  The  tap- 
room was  comfortable,  informal,  and  conducive  to  the  interchange  of 
fact  and  opinion,  —  three  qualifications  that  appealed  strongly  to  the 
English.  The  life  in  America  led  to  a  freer  mental  activity,  and 
means  of  communication  were  limited. 

But  a  new  and  tremendous  agency  was  showing  itself,  —  journalism. 
There  was  a  paper  or  two  started  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  and  by  1745  newspapers  were  published  at  Boston,  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  Charleston,  and  elsewhere.  This  ready  means 
of  intercommunication  gave  a  wonderful  impetus  to  republicanism, 
and  contributed  to  the  breaking  up  of  tavern  life  as  it  originally 
existed. 

The  first  Springfield  paper  was  *"The  Massachusetts  Gazette  aud 
General  Advertiser,"  published  by  Babcock  &  Haswell  in  1782.  It 
was   a   dingy  affair,  containing   some  foreign  matter  and  very  little 


344  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1S86. 

local  information,  bnt  was  open  to  free  discussion  upon  the  hundred 
questions  that  self-government  had  grappled  with.  One  is  struck  with 
the  literary  quality  and  wide  reading  of  the  men  who  wrote  connnu- 
nications  "  to  the  printer."  The  average  editorial  of  the  country 
weekly  of  to-da}',  as  well  as  some  of  the  larger  papers,  does  not  exhibit 
a  fraction  of  the  quality,  logic,  and  incisive  force  that  characterized 
the  literature  of  the  "  Gazette"  and  its  immediate  successors.  The 
"Gazette"  printing-office  was  a  few  rods  south  of  the  court-house, 
where  also  were  an  extensive  stock  of  books,  writing-paper,  maps, 
and  cartridge  papers,  to  be  exchanged  for  rags  and  countr}^  produce 
or  even  money.  The}^  published  in  1782  an  "  Astronomical  Ephe- 
meris,"  calculated  for  the  meridian  of  Springfield.  This  almanac 
was  prepared  by  Professor  Strong,  of  Yale.  This  and  Goldsmith's 
"  Deserted  Village,"  with  other  books,  were  sold  by  the  several  post- 
riders  from  the  printing-office. 

These  post- riders  formed  a  graphic  feature  of  the  day,  running,  as 
they  did,  from  the  "  Gazette  "  office  up  and  down  the  valley,  and  both 
east  and  west.  They  w^ere  in  straits  in  1782,  because  the}^  were  com- 
pelled to  pa}"  weekly  for  their  papers,  and  were  unable  to  secure  sub- 
scription mone}^  from  their  customers  promptlv-  One  post-rider, 
named  Rumreil,  covered  a  route  from  Northfield  to  Hartford.  The 
printers  themselves  were  often  in  trouble,  owing  to  the  arrears  of  the 
subscribers.  Here  is  one  advertisement  in  1782  :  "  Those  gentlemen 
who  engaged  to  pay  for  their  papers  in  grain  are  once  more  earnestly 
requested  to  make  immediate  payment,  as  the  printers  are  in  much 
want  of  that  article."  Babcock  and  Haswell  published  a  number  of 
local  books,  among  them  two  sermons  b}^  Mr.  Breck,  one  delivered 
at  the  funeral  of  David  Parsons  and  one  at  the  ordination  of  David 
Parsons,  Jr.,  of  Amherst. 

Mr.  Babcock  —  his  name  was  Elisha  —  took  the  whole  paper  in 
1784,  but  before  the  year  closed  Brooks  &  Russell  were  the  publish- 
ers. The  paper  edited  itself.  It  was  soon  moved  to  the  Great  Ferry, 
its  name  changed  to  the  "  Hampshire  Herald,"  and  the  proprietors 


SPRINGFIELD,    1G36-1S86.  345 

were  Stebbins  &  Russell.  Their  store  was  enlarged  so  as  to  in- 
clude drugs,  hollow  ware,  and  West  India  goods. 

The  Great  Ferry  had  another  paper  in  1788,  the  "  Herald"  having 
been  discontinued.  It  was  the  "  Hampshire  Chronicle,"  published  by 
John  Russell,  then  Russell  &  Webster,  and  then  Weld  &  Thomas,  the 
latter  removing  the  establishment  opposite  the  court-house.  E.  W. 
AVeld,  of  this  firm,  bought  the  "  Chronicle"  in  1790,  and  soon  changed 
the  name  to  ' '  The  Hampshire  and  Berkshire  Chronicle. "  ' '  The  Federal 
Spy"  was  started  in  1793  by  James  R.  Hutchins,  and  was  bought  by 
Francis  Stebbins  in  1796,  and  so  passed  to  Timothy  Ashley  in  1799. 

Joseph  Williams,  who  was  military  store-keeper  at  the  arsenal, 
lived  on  the  Colton  place.  State  street,  which  Dr.  Charles  Pynchon 
secured  in  1781  after  a  lawsuit  with  Colton,  Williams  married 
Pynchon's  daughter,  and  thus  secured  the  property,  which  was  sub- 
sequently bought  by  Jonathan  Dwight,  Jr.  Mrs.  AYilliams's  sister, 
Mrs.  Lyman,  wife  of  Congressman  Lyman,  owned  much  of  the 
property  on  both  sides  of  North  Main  street.  Samuel  Lyman  was  a 
Yale  graduate,  a  member  of  the  Legislature  in  1786,  State  senator  in 
1790,  and  sat  in  the  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  congresses,  but  finally 
resigned  on  account  of  faiUng  health.  Captain  Emery  married  Mrs. 
Williams's  daughter,  and  built  on  the  west  side  a  house,  which  formed 
a  part  of  the  old  American  House,  and  later  the  Russell  House.  Dea- 
con Williston  made  cocked  hats  in  Ferry  lane,  and  our  friend  Zebina 
Stebbins  enlarged  his  business  by  weaving  duck  and  linen  checks. 
Edward  Boylston,  wheelwright,  also  lived  on  the  lane.  Nathaniel 
Brewer,  son  of  Rev.  Daniel  Brewer,  w^ho  lived  on  Ferry  lane,  was  a 
stone-cutter.  He  died  in  1796,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-five. 
His  son,  Dr.  Chauncey  Brewer,  studied  with  Dr.  Charles  Pynchon 
after  graduating  at  Yale,  and  succeeded  to  Pynchon's  practice  after 
his  death.  '  The  latter  was  one  of  the  incorporators  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Medical  Society,  of  which  Dr.  Brewer  was  admitted  a  fellow  in 
1785.  Nathaniel  Brewer's  mother  (wife  of  Rev.  Daniel  Brewer)  was 
a  daughter  of    Nathaniel  Chauncey,  son  of  Charles  Chauncey,   the 


346  SPRIXGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

second  president  of  Harvard  College.  And  it  ma}'  be  here  remarked 
that  our  city  of  homes  was  once,  after  a  fashion,  the  mother  of  college 
presidents.  President  Burr,  of  Princeton,  President  Holyoke,  of 
Harvard,  President  Hitchcock,  of  Amherst,  Presidents  Day  and 
Dwight,  of  Yale,  President  Colton,  of  Carlisle,  Dr.  William  Harris, 
of  Columbia,  Dr.  Thomas  R.  Pynchon,  of  Trinit}',  and  Dr.  A.  L. 
Chapin,  of  Beloit,  came  from  Springfield  stock.  The  physical  devel- 
opment which  Amherst  College  has  made  rather  a  specialty  of  late 
years  may  well  have  been  due  to  the  efforts  of  the  genial  Dr.  Edward 
Hitchcock,  whose  ancestral  relative,  Dea.  John  Hitchcock,  born  in 
North  Main  street  in  1722,  and  the  first  deacon  of  the  first  South 
Wilbraham  church,  was  physically  the  most  remarkable  man  of  his 
day.  He  never  met  a  man  who  could  "lick  "  him.  Says  Dr.  A.  Booth, 
in  the  course  of  some  exceedingly  interesting  reminiscences  of  Spring- 
field that  appeared  in  the  "  New  England  Homestead"  some  years 
ago  :  "  The  da}'  Deacon  Hitchcock  was  seventy  years  old  he  remarked 
to  his  wife  that  when  he  was  first  married  he  was  wont  to  amuse  her 
by  taking  down  his  hat  with  his  toes,  and  added,  '  I  wonder  if  I 
could  do  it  now.'  Thereupon  he  jumped  from  the  floor,  took  off  the 
hat  with  his  toes,  came  down  on  his  feet  like  a  cat,  hung  up  the  hat 
on  the  nail,  turned  to  the  table,  asked  a  blessing,  and  ate  of  the 
repast  then  ready."  This  bit  of  information  came  from  Oliver  B. 
Morris,  who  remembered  seeing  the  old  deacon,  with  his  white  locks, 
sturdy  form,  and  face  strong  with  the  imprint  of  a  muscular  Chris- 
tianity. 

Dr.  Joel  Marble  bought  the  Chicopee  bank  corner  of  Moses  Bliss 
at  the  close  of  the  Revolution.  The  doctor  subsequently  drowned 
himself  while  insane  in  a  well  back  of  the  Parsons  tavern.  The 
corner  property  passed  down  by  purchase  to  Dr.  Dix,  of  Worcester, 
and  in  1790  to  Daniel  Lombard,  Jr.,  who  kept  a  store  on  the  corner, 
as  well  as  the  post-office.  James  Byers  secured  the  property  in  this 
century,  and  built  the  three  brick  buildings  still  standing. 

The  old  Gaol  tavern  was   partly  on  the   Union  house   site  (Bliss 


SPRINGFIELD,    163G-18S6.  347 

street),  the  log  jail  being  in  the  rear.  William  Colton  kept  the 
tavern  until  the  early  part  of  the  present  century.  The  old  building 
is  now  on  Central  street  (between  Main  and  Maple).  Col.  Thomas 
Dwight,  the  son  of  Josiah,  lived  in  the  Dwight  residence  (Howard 
street)  ;  he  is  remembered  as  a  man  of  culture  and  dignity.  He 
married  a  daughter  of  Colonel  Worthington,  and  was  the  father-in- 
law  of  Maj.  Charles  Howard.  Colonel  Dwight  was  a  federalist  of 
the  strictest  sort.  He  was  graduated  from  Harvard  in  1778,  was  in 
the  Legislature  in  1794,  and  in  the  State  Senate  for  1796  to  1803, 
when  he  was  elected  to  Congress.  But  there  was  too  much  Virginia 
politics  for  him  down  there,  and  he  declined  a  reelection. 

3Iargaret  street  is  named  after  AVidow  Margaret  Bliss,  mother  of 
Samuel  Bliss,  who  died  in  1720,  and  who  is  said  to  have  built  the 
Loring  house  in  South  Main  street.  Reuben  Bliss,  who  died  in  1806, 
at  an  advanced  age,  lived  on  the  east  side  of  lower  Main  street,  and 
had  as  a  neighbor  Capt.  Joseph  Ferre.  Joseph  Dwight  built  what 
was  subsequently  turned  into  the  United  States  Hotel,  and  he  kept  a 
distillery  just  south  of  it  (D.  A.  Bush's  place).  The  potash  and 
pearlash  works  of  J.  J.  Dwight  were  at  Wilbraham.  Charles 
Ferre  built  on  Maple  street  (Lombard  Dale's)  on  1661,  and  until 
about  this  time  (1783)  the  road  ran  along  the  brow  of  the  hill  to  the 
dingle  (Rumrill's  house).  Dr.  Charles  Brewer  lived  on  Maple  street, 
and  the  road  Avas  sometimes  called  the  road  to  Charles  Brewer's  ;  the 
prison  lot,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  nearer  the  road  to  Boston 
(Judge  Henry  Morris's  place) .  Samuel  Babcock  owned  the  paper- 
mill  in  1786,  where  was  manufactured  newspaper,  writing,  cartridge, 
and  wrapping  paper. 

As  the  century  closed  we  find  these  men  in  business :  Daniel 
Lombard,  corner  Meeting-House  lane,  dry  goods  and  groceries ; 
William  Sheldon,  south  of  the  court-house,  dry  goods  and  groceries ; 
Eleazer  Williams,  dry  goods  and  groceries  ;  Charles  Sheldon,  dry 
goods  and  groceries  ;  John  Padley,  "  taylor  and  habit-maker,"  two 
doors  south  of  the  post-office ;   and  John  Lloyd,  leather-dresser. 


348  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

Marcus  Marble's  drug-store  was  opposite  the  court-house.  In 
1792  he  moved  to  the  present  site  of  H.  &  J.  Brewer.  Over  Marble's 
store  was  a  3^oung  ladies' school  in  1793.  As  earl}^  as  1790  James 
Byers  &  Co.  sold  iron  hollow-ware,  potash  kettles,  and  bought  old 
cast-iron. 

These  rambling  notes  have  been  made  in  utter  disregard  of  any 
order  of  time  or  situation.  We  have  gossipped  as  a  stranger  would 
have  done  who  dropped  in  at  the  old  D wight  store,  and  was  led  by 
curiosity  to  learn  of  the  village,  and  its  waj^s  and  walks. 

We  now  return  to  passing  events.  The  selectmen  of  1779  were 
Ensign  Phineas  Chapin,  Capt.  Thomas  Stebbins,  Capt.  Daniel  Burt, 
William  Pynchon,  Jr.,  and  Thomas  Williston.  In  1782,  when  the 
Ely  riots  occurred,  Hancock  was  governor,  and  John  Bliss  one  of  the 
Hampshire  senators.  The  Fourth  of  July  of  that  year  was  celebrated 
in  Springfield  b}^  the  flying  of  the  Union  flag  at  the  "Continental 
works  "  on  the  hill.  Thirteen  o-uns  were  fired  at  noon,  and  fireworks 
in  the  evening.  These  early  patriotic  celebrations  were  accompanied 
by  banquets  and  speeches.  We  are  told  "  the  gentlemen  of  the  town 
assembled,  and  partook  of  a  cold  collation  at  the  Continental  works 
on  the  hill,  when  a  number  of  patriotic  toasts  were  drank."  In  Oc- 
tober 18  of  that  year  thirteen  "beautiful  rockets"  were  sent  up  in 
memory  of  the  capture  of  Cornwallis.  There  was  a  dinner,  and  many 
toasts  were  drunk.  The  celebration  on  December  13,  1783,  over  the 
treaty  of  peace  was  the  occasion  for  a  repetition  of  these  features. 

Gov.  John  Hancock  and  Mrs.  Hancock,  with  Madam  Jefferson, 
passed  through  the  town  in  1787,  which  must  have  challenged  more 
of  the  circimistance  of  place  and  distinction.  In  December,  1782,  a 
number  of  American  prisoners  passed  through  Springfield  from 
Canada,  where  they  had  been  held  for  several  years.  There  were 
general  felicitations  and  recounting  of  experiences. 

We  find  a  change  in  1796,  when  Stephen  Pynchon  delivered  the 
Fourth  of  July  address,  which  was  followed  by  a  dinner.  A  place 
upon  the  hustings  for  the  American  eagle  to  spread  was  thus  well 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  349 

laid  here.  The  changes  in  the  personnel  of  the  town-meeting  were 
somewhat  marked  toward  the  close  of  the  centnry.  John  Hooker  be- 
came moderator  in  1705,  and  the  selectmen  were  AVilliam  Pynchon, 
Jonathan  Dwight,  Eeuben  Bliss,  Phineas  Chapin,  and  Thomas 
D  wight. 

In  those  early  days  the  floating  of  timber  down  the  river  was  quite 
a  business,  which  was  managed  very  much  as  the  common  fields  w^ere. 
Men  secured  from  the  authorities  the  monopoly  of  this  trade.  Thus 
we  see  in  the  spring  of  1783  Timothy  Bush,  Moody  Freeman,  and 
John  Ely  forbidding  persons  marketing  timber  without  a  license.  A 
possible  explanation  of  this  is  indicated  by  an  advertisement  in  the 
''Massachusetts  Gazette." 

Simon  Parkhurst  and  seven  others  assert  that  whereas  a  small 
meeting  of  the  proprietors  of  the  timber  trade  in  Connecticut  river, 
at  Landlord  Brewster's,  March  4,  1783,  chose  Dr.  Page,  Alexander 
Plumle}',  and  Samuel  Wells  to  "  collect  and  dispose  of  said  timber," 
they,  the  said  Parkhurst  et  aL,  forbid  said  committee  from  so 
doing. 

There  is  little  of  note  in  this  period  about  the  schools.  In  1795 
the  town  was  divided  into  nine  school  districts,  and  all  teachers  were 
ordered  to  report  the  number  of  scholars.  An  English  school  was 
ordered  for  the  Centre,  to  accommodate  such  scholars  as  the  select- 
men thought  not  admissible  to  the  grammar  school.  The  total  schol- 
ars in  Springfield  proved  to  be  five  hundred  and  ninety- three.  The 
special  committee  on  schools,  in  view  of  this,  said  :  "  It  therefore  is  a 
matter  of  no  small  consequence  that  the  liberal  provision  granted  for 
the  support  of  schools  should  be  so  appropriated  as  to  produce  the 
greatest  benefit." 

In  March,  1787,  after  the  collapse  of  the  Shays  rebellion,  Captain 
StebbinsAvas  placed  at  the  head  of  a  committee  to  hire  constables,  the 
bid  for  such  service  being  raised  from  £5  to  £15,  and  two  and  one- 
half  per  cent,  of  the  State  tax.  Ebenezer  Bliss  was  finall}^  secured 
as  one  of  the  constables,  and  Moses  Chapin  another,  the  latter  prob- 


350  SPRINGFIELD,    2636-18S6. 

ably  for  the  Chicopee  part  of  the  town.  The  next  year  it  was  pro- 
posed to  put  the  office  of  constable  up  at  auction,  but  finally 
Ebenezer  Bliss  took  it  another  year,  and  AVilliam  Chapin,  Jr.,  took 
the  place  of  Moses  Chapin. 

In  December,  1788,  there  were  more  warrants  of  distress  ordered 
against  constables,  although  things  were  in  a  better  condition  than 
before  the  insurgent  rebellion.  There  was  a  brisk  business  done  in 
the  abatement  of  taxes  during  these  years,  and  the  feeling  was 
becoming  general  that  these  readjustments  were  the  beginnings  of 
better  days.  No  less  than  fifty-three  such  tax  abatements  were 
ordered  in  1790.  Three  years  later  the  office  of  collector  of  the  first 
parish  was  "  sold  at  Vendue  to  the  lowest  bidder,"  and  Jonathan 
Dwight  secured  it  for  £10.  The  Chicopee  parish  was  given  toUoswell 
Chapin  for  £3  lOs.  Dwight,  by  the  way,  was  a  selectman  and  town 
auditor. 

Samuel  Lyman  was  sent  up  to  the  General  Court  after  the  collapse 
of  the  Shays  rebellion,  and  was  reelected  next  year.  William  Pynchon 
was  chosen  as  delegate  to  the  famous  convention  in  January,  1788, 
at  Boston. 

There  was  a  general  casting  up  of  accounts  in  1789,  and  AVilliam 
Pynchon' s  l)ooks  were  found  to  stand  as  follows  :  — 

The  town  of  Springfield  in  Account  with  Wm  Pynchon  Esq^  Treasurer 
Dr.       To  sundry  payments  as  pr  Treasurers  account  from   1781 

to  this  time  3450:    2:    5: 1 

To  moneys  outstanding  in  the  hands  of  the  Constables  viz  : 
Sam^^  Leonard  due  to  the  former  Treas''  de^^  for  the  year 

1771, 
Semuel  Stebbins  for  Moses  Harris  rates  in  1776 
1782     Alexander  Bliss 

Sam'i  Munn  on  Execution  2  9  (5  1 

do  on  note  19  410 

Ezra  Stebbins  by  mortgage 
Joseph  Chapin  by  do. 
Collected  of  do.  by  John  Morgan  on  Ex"  July  1787 


OU: 

4: 

o: 

58: 

15: 

0:1 

46: 

12: 

4:3 

21: 

14: 

4:1 

.28: 

12: 

7:2 

57: 

17: 

5: 

8: 

2: 

0: 

SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  351 


1784     Luther  Hitchcock  0:    7:10:3 

Ebenezer  Warrmer  28:    G:    4: 

Jon=i  Beamout  de^^  in  the  hands  of  M  Chapin  7:  15  H 

1786  John  Cohon  L  35  4:  10 

do  on  note     L     114     8  3G  19     G 

Aaron  Morgan  by  mortgage  32:    0:    2:2 

1787  John  Pynchon  L  33: 11:  4:  3 

do  by  note                3:    5  3G:  IG:    4: 3 

John  Frink  43.    6: 10  3 

1788  Ebenezer  Bliss  24: 17: 10: 1 
Moses  Chapin  22:    0:    9:3 

1789  Ebenezer  BUss  L  207:    3:9:2 

do  for  2  notes              5:  10: 3: 2  212:  14:    0: 2 

Wm  Chapin  33.    4.    9.3 

L  4306: 11:    3:3 

Cr. 

By  several  rates  as  p  Assessors  Certificates  from  1781  to  178 — 

Inclusively  3363:19:    0:3 

By  monies  received  by  Treasurer  from  1871  to  this  time  532: 17:    2:  3 
By  balance  due  to  tlie  former  treasurer  as  p'  Adjustment  Xov^  27 

1780  141,17,    5,1 

By  three  notes  of  Sam"  Munn  19:    4;  10 

By  one  note  of  John  Cotton  1: 14,    g. 

By  one  do  of  John  Pynchon  3:    5,    q 

By  two  do  of  Ebenezer  Bliss  5:  lO:    3 


4068:    8:    5:3 
Balance  due  town  treasr  238:    2;  10 


4306:11:    3:3 


In  1792  the  Legislature  incorporated  a  compan}^  to  build  locks  and 
canals  on  the  Connecticut  river,  John  Worthington  heading  the  list 
of  stockholders.  Northampton  was  strongl}^  represented  on  the  list. 
Benjamin  Prescott,  of  Northampton,  engineer,  was  soon  at  work  on 
the  canal  at  South  Hadley.  The  engineering  difficulties  were  not  in- 
significant, considering  that  it  was  the  pioneer  project  of  caualing  in 
New  England.     But  the  scarcity  of  money  was  more  of  an  item  of 


352  SPRIXGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

cliscouragemeut.  In  1793  the  power  to  assess  the  stock  resulted  in 
a  coDiplication,  which  ended  in  the  sending  of  an  agent  to  Holland 
and  the  securing  of  a  Dutch  loan.  The  company  was  divided  in 
1794,  the  Montague  falls  being  largely  under  the  control  of  North- 
ampton men,  though  Jonathan  Dwight  retained  an  interest  in  it. 
The  original  company  having  thus  the  lower  falls  in  hand  soon  built 
a  canal  in  the  rocks,  and  started  a  dam  to  raise  the  river  level  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  canal.  The  consequent  overflowing  of  the  North- 
ampton meadows  gave  rise  to  a  prosecution  of  the  company,  and  a 
portion  of  the  dam  was  torn  down,  —  all  but  the  oblique  section. 
The  Dutch  capitalists  retreated  from  the  enterprise  thoroughly 
frightened,  but  the  faith  ef  the  local  projectors  enabled  them  to  turn 
a  comfortable  penny.  In  1802  the}'  were  authorized  to  raise  more 
money  ])y  means  of  a  lottery,  and  soon  began  to  deepen  the  canal 
several  feet,  which  was  completed  in  1805.  Thus  did  the  lands  about 
the  falls,  granted  in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  to 
John  Pynchon,  attain  an  importance  in  the  first  part  of  the  nineteenth 
century  beyond  the  emoluments  of  the  fishing  business. 

The  demoralization  attending  the  wars  was  plain  enough.  Burglary 
and  horse-stealing,  from  1787,  or  for  ten  years,  was  very  common 
here,  and,  of  course,  deserters  and  bounty-jumpers  had  their  way. 
In  1782  two  3'oung  men  of  the  town  —  Gresham  Brown,  Jr.,  and 
Elias  Swan  —  were  induced  to  enlist  at  Worcester  under  false  names, 
in  order  to  secure  the  $60  bounty.  They  were  detected,  but  were  let 
off  with  a  published  card  full  of  humble  contrition,  and  the  payment 
of  $20  "  smart  money,"  to  be  used  for  advertising  for  deserters. 
Capt.  Seth  Banister,  of  the  4th  Massachusetts  (Colonel  Shepard), 
was  recruiting-otficer  stationed  at  Springfield.  He  was  charged  at 
<me  time  with  withholding  the  pay  of  recruits  in  order  to  keep  them 
from  deserting.  The  ground  for  this  was  the  ordering  of  only  a  part 
of  the  pay  of  recruits  in  certain  cases,  the  money  being  deposited 
with  the  soldier's  immediate  officer.  Troops  on  furlough  were  ordered 
to  assemble  in  Springfield,  June  10,  1783,  probably  to  be  paid  off  and 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  853 


be  mustered  out.  Notice  was  given  a  year  later  that  the  commissioner's 
office  at  Springfield  was  soon  to  be  removed  from  Springfield,  and  all 
holding  certificates  from  commissaries,  quartermasters,  or  forage- 
masters,  for  services  performed  before  January  17,  1782,  to  present 
them  for  settlement.  During  that  year,  Maj.  J.  Williams,  with  sixty 
soldiers  from  West  Point,  reached  Springfield,  as  guard  to  the  maga- 
zine on  "  Continental  hill." 

A  great  sensation  was  caused  in  May,  1782,  when  a  woman  enlisted 
in  Springfield,  as  Samuel  Smith,  dressed  as  a  man.  She  failed  to  get 
mustered,  or  to  receive  the  $60  bounty,  and  was  locked  up.  She  was 
discovered  by  the  "  want  of  a  beard  and  the  redundance  of  some 
other  matters."  William  Jones,  a  passer  of  counterfeit  State  certifi- 
cates, broke  jail  about  this  time,  and,  in  fact,  there  were  so  many 
crimes  against  property,  that  at  the  close  of  the  year  (1782)  a 
society  was  formed  for  the  pursuit  and  conviction  of  thieves  ;  but  this 
did  not  prevent  a  descent  upon  Zeuas  Parsons  about  a  year  later, 
much  plate  and  other  valuables  being  secured. 

The  times  were  now  ripe  for  the  beginnings  of  those  activities 
which  we  may  term  modern.  Still  another  age  was  approaching,  with 
change  in  dress,  change  in  religious  belief,  change  in  political  ideas, 
and  change  in  business  methods.  In  a  word,  the  day  of  pounds, 
shillings,  and  pence  was  about  gone,  and  the  rule  of  dollars  and  cents 
had  beo'un 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

1800-1821. 

The  United  States  Armory.  —  David  Ames.  —  Roswell  Lee.  —  "Toddy  Lane." — The 
Dwight  Store  again.  —  Other  Buildings  of  Interest.  —  Incorporation  of  Hampden 
County.  —  Fight  over  the  Offices.  —  The  Embargo  Troubles. — The  Hartford  Con- 
vention. —  The  Character  of  George  Bliss,  First.  —  Town  Acts.  —  William  Ely.  — Town 
Officers  for  1808.  —  Bridges  over  the  Connecticut.  —  Visit  of  President  Monroe. — 
Population.  — The  Springfield  Bank.  —  Springfield  Fraternities.  — The  Old  Academy. 
—  Samuel  Osgood.  —  Baptists  and  Methodists. — Rev.  W.  B.  O.  Peabody.  —  Xew 
Congregational  Meeting-House  and  Court-House. 

When  the  proposal  to  establish  here  a  federal  arseual  was  made, 
public  opiniou  was  divided.  If  West  Springfield  had  made  any  effort 
the  armory  would  probably  have  been  established  there  ;  but  the  ma- 
jority on  the  west  side,  like  the  minority  here,  feared  the  moral  effect 
of  drawing  in  the  soldier  element,  which  would  make  up  the  bulk  of  the 
armorers.  There  was  quite  a  flutter  caused  in  1792  by  a  colony  of 
laborers,  with  their  families,  who  settled  here  ;  but  a  meetmg  of  the 
selectmen  and  sundry  ^'isitations  of  the  two  town  constables,  with 
writs  of  warning  to  depart  in  fifteen  days,  restored  the  equilibrium. 
It  was  this  kind  of  invasion  that  the  community  feared. 

Brookfield  and  Hartford  had  both  been  thought  of  as  proper  places 
for  a  government  storehouse.  Stores  could  be  sent  down  the  river  from 
here,  but  the  town  could  not  be  reached  by  a  hostile  flotilla.  A  re- 
solve of  the  Continental  Congress,  recommending  Massachusetts  to 
build  a  magazine  at  Brookfield,  was  passed  as  early  as  December,  1776  ; 
but  both  General  Knox  and  General  Washington  changed  their  minds, 
and  six  months  later  the  Springfield  training-ground  had  been  selected. 
The  ground  was  first  leased  to  the  government,  and  the  proper  deeds 
passed  in  1795  and  1801.     Land  was   bought  for  the  lower  water- 


35(3  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

shops  in  1793  and  1798.  The  date  associated  with  the  Springfield 
Armory  is  1794,  when  Congress  passed  a  bill  establishing  a  United 
States  armor}'  here. 

The  appearance  of  the  hill  at  that  tune  was  not  especially  formi- 
dable in  a  military  sense.  There  was  a  powder  magazine  (Magazine 
street),  made  of  brick,  with  an  arched  roof  of  brick  about  three  feet 
thick.  This  magazine  was  blown  up  by  Major  Ingersoll  in  1846. 
There  were  two  red  wooden  storehouses  built  in  1782,  and  there  were 
some  soldiers'  barracks,  and  an  old  dwelling-house,  where  John  Bryant, 
the  store-keeper,  lived.  Buildings  had  already  been  put  up  at  the 
lower  water-shops.  The  upper  water-shops  were  built  in  1809,  upon 
the  site  of  a  powder-mill  that  had  exploded  that  year.  This  made  it 
possible  to  abandon  handwork  for  water-power  in  forging,  boring,  and 
grinding. 

The  first  nuisket  was  made  by  the  United  States  here,  in  1795,  under 
David  Ames,  the  first  superintendent,  and  Robert  Orr,  master  ar- 
morer. Forty  men  were  employed  at  first.  It  is  stated  that  the  first 
gun-lock  was  filed  by  Alexander  Crawford,  after  a  struggle  of  three 
days,  Richard  Beebe  stocking  it  b}^  hand.  Among  the  first  armorers 
may  be  mentioned  Abijah  Hendricks,  Azariel  AVarner,  Elisha  Tobey, 
Jacob  Perkins,  Joseph  Hopkins,  Joseph  Lombard,  John  Stebbins 
(father  of  John  B.  Stebbins,  of  Crescent  Hill),  Jason  Mills,  Jonathan 
AVarner,  Thomas  Dale,  and  Zenas  White.  The  armory  turned  out  two 
hundred  and  forty-five  muskets  the  first  year,  less  than  one  for  each 
working  day  ;  and  the  product  increased  until  the  civil  war,  when  a 
daily  capacity  of  one  thousand  was  reached,  which  was  the  yearly 
capacity  at  the  opening  of  the  century.  Armorers  were  exempted 
from  jury  and  military  duty  after  1800. 

David  Ames  was  succeeded  in  the  superinteudenc}'  of  the  armor}' 
by  Joseph  Morgan  in  1802,  and  after  him  came  Benjamin  Prescott 
(1805),  Henry  Lechler  (1813),  Benjamin  Prescott  (1815),  and  Lieut. - 
Col.  Roswell  Lee  (1815).  David  Ames  was  born  in  Springfield, 
and    beside   his    record   as  a   federal    olticer   on    the  hill   stands    his 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-2886.  357 

notable  enterprise  of  paper  manufacturing.  It  was  he  who  took  up 
the  loose  lines  of  this  industry,  and  developed  it  in  away  to  hold  the 
paper  supremacy  of  the  county  here.  Benjamin  Prescott  built  the 
north  shops,  burned  in  1824,  as  well  as  the  west  arsenal.  It  was  due 
to  Prescott's  efforts  that  Walnut  street  was  opened  through  the  pine 
forest  then  standing.  The  title  to  the  main  part  of  Federal  square 
was  secured  from  the  town  in  1812.  Jedediah  Lord  kept  a  tavern  on 
the  south-west  corner  in  1809.  Prescott  was  more  of  a  mechanic  and 
man  of  business  than  an  executive  officer,  and  Colonel  Lee  found 
enough  administrative  reform  work  to  do.  Lee  was  a  six-footer, 
dignified  and  placid  in  demeanor.  Old  armorers  exhibited  great 
respect  and  affection  for  Colonel  Lee,  while  his  administration  was 
recognized  by  armory  experts  as  able  and  aggressive.  Lee  removed 
the  blockhouse  and  red  storehouses  to  the  "  eastern  square,"  rebuilt 
the  north  shop  burned  in  1824,  and  put  up  the  east  arsenal  and  south 
shop,  as  well  as  the  middle  arsenal,  that  faces  Olivet  church.  Lee 
lived  on  the  site  of  the  present  large  arsenal. 

Once  or  twice  during  tlie  administration  of  Colonel  Lee  his  vigor 
carried  him  to  debatable  lengths.  It  was  a  source  of  anxiety  to  him 
that  the  armorers  spent  so  much  of  their  earnings  for  rum,  and  his 
zeal  in  checking  the  practice  precipitated  quite  a  scene  in  181(3.  The 
old  Toddy  road  to  Japhet  Chapin's  tavern  (Cabotville)  was  named 
for  obvious  reasons,  and  Lee  did  not  reduce  the  travel  along  this  route 
as  materially  as  he  had  hoped.  He  discharged  two  workmen.  Noble 
and  Charter,  who  were  found  w^restling  in  the  midst  of  a  ring  of 
armorers.  There  was  a  liberty  pole  in  the  centre  of  the  ground  that 
had  been  erected  by  the  subscription  of  the  workmen,  and  here  the 
friends  of  the  discharged  men  gathered  and  passed  around  the  bottles. 
"If  we  can't  have  any  liberty,"  they  said,  "we  won't  have  any 
liberty  pole,"  and  an  axe  was  laid  at  its  root.  Clerk  Wolcott,  then 
the  colonel  himself,  then  Master  Armorer  Foot,  with  some  out-of- 
town  officials,  hastened  to  the  scene.  The  pole  was  saved,  and  the 
little   "rum  rebellion"  had  a  good  effect    all   round,  and   a  better 


358  SPRINGFIELD,    I636-18S6. 

understanding  prevailed.  Toddy  road  did  not  lose  its  name  for  some 
years,  however. 

During  the  early  years  of  the  present  centur}^  the  Dwights  had 
spread  their  mercantile  relations  in  a  way  to  command  the  course  of 
trade  in  this  region,  and  to  their  enterprise  is  due  an  important  part 
of  Springfield's  commercial  advancement  at  this  thne.  "  The  Dwights 
rule  Springfield,"  remarked  a  solicitous  townsman  of  that  day.  The 
firm  adopted  the  practice  of  setting  up  their  clerks  in  business  in  the 
surrounding  towns,  but  retaining  an  interest  in  the  various  stores. 
They  established  a  store  at  Chester  Village,  with  William  AVade  as  man- 
ager ;  one  at  Northampton,  with  Josiah  D.  Whitney  as  manager ;  one 
in  Enfield,  Conn,  (including  a  gin  distillery,  in  which  John  Cooley,  of 
Lougmeadow,  and  others  were  interested),  with  James  Brewer  as 
manager  ;  and  a  store,  grist  and  saw^  mills  at  South  Hadley  Canal,  with 
Josiah  Bardwell  as  manager.  In  1815  the  Boston  branch  bore  the 
firm  name  of  William  H.  &  J.  W.  Dwight.  William  H.  Dwight  was 
lost  in  the  wreck  of  the  "Albion,"  in  May,  1822,  on  his  way  to 
England,  and  Edmund  Dwight  settled  permanently  at  Boston. 

J.  and  E.  Dwight  owned  several  coasting  vessels  between  Hartford 
and  Boston  and  New  York,  and  were  interested  with  John  Cooley  & 
Co.  in  a  line  of  boats  between  Hartford  and  Springfield.  The 
Dwights  were  also  interested  in  banking  business  in  Springfield, 
Greenfield,  Geneva,  Cleveland,  and  Detroit. 

The  firm  of  Day,  Brewer,  &  Dwight  commenced  business  at  the 
corner  store  in  1822,  after  the  death  of  James  Scutt  Dwight,  and  was 
composed  of  Benjamin  Day,  James  Brewer,  and  James  Sanford 
Dwight,  with  Jonathan  Dwight,  Jr.,  and  Edmund  Dwight  as  silent 
partners.  In  1825  Mr.  Day  moved  to  Geneva,  and  the  firm  was  then 
Dwight,  Brewer,  &  Dwight,  composed  of  J.  S.  Dwight,  James 
Brewer,  and  Henry  Dwight,  the  younger.  Subsequently  Mr.  Brewer 
retired,  and  the  remaining  partners  continued  under  the  name  of 
J.  &  H.  Dwight.  Mr.  Da^^  rejoined  the  firm,  which  was  then  Day  & 
Dwight.     Mr.    Day   and    Henry   Dwight    sold    out   to   James,    who 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  359 

assumed  the  business,  and  on  his  death,  in  Ital}',  the  corner  store  was 
closed  forever. 

The  front  corner  room  of  the  second  story  of  the  brick  store  was 
occupied  as  a  law  office,  successively  by  Jonathan  Dwight,  Jr.,  John 
Howard,  AYilliam  B.  Calhoun,  George  Bliss,  Jr.,  William  Dwight, 
Richard  Bliss,  and  Henry  Vose.  Here,  also,  the  Springfield  Fire 
Insurance  Company  was  organized. 

The  building  adjoining  the  corner  store  on  the  north  was  deeded 
by  William  Colton  to  ''  Simeon  Ashley,  trader  ;  "  and  on  the  death  of 
Ashley,  his  heirs  in  1801  conveyed  it  to  Jonathan  Dwight,  the  elder, 
and  James  Scutt  Dwight.  The  school-ground  was  directly  east,  in 
the  rear.  A  few  doors  north  of  the  old  Dwight  store  was  a  building 
also  owned  by  Mr.  Dwight,  and  occupied  at  one  time  b}^  James  Byers 
as  a  post-office  and  a  commissary  for  supplies  to  government  troops  and 
armorers  on  the  hill.     It  was  afterwards  rented  to  Sterns  &  Edwards. 

George  Bliss,  grandson  of  Moses  Bliss,  said  in  1866  :  — 

The  land  easterly  of  the  stores  on  Main  street,  and  as  far  north  as  the  alley 
leading  east  by  lOrkham's  store,  Avas  the  old  school-ground,  the  title  of  Avhich  Avas 
in  the  First  Parish.  It  extended  some  8  or  10  feet  easterly  of  the  present  old 
Town  Hall.  In  my  boyhood  an  old  dilapidated  two-story  brick  school-house 
stood  near  the  north  line  of  the  school-ground,  with  the  play-ground  about  80  or 
100  feet  wide  between  the  school-house  and  the  causeway.  On  the  front  of  this 
ground  and  adjoining  the  causeway  stood  an  old  engine-house,  and  the  gun- 
house  for  the  two  artillery  cannon.  At  a  pretty  early  date  the  old  brick  school- 
house  Avas  taken  down,  and  a  one-story  wooden  building  erected  with  two  rooms. 
This  was  burned  down  and  a  two-story  brick  house  built  in  its  stead.  About 
1826  these  schools  were  discontinued,  and  the  front  part  of  the  lot  was  sold  to 
the  town  for  a  Town  Hall,  and  the  residue  to  private  parties.  Market  street  being 
laid  out  between  State  and  Sandford  streets.  The  part  of  the  school-ground 
west  of  iNIarket  street  Avas  sold  to  the  OAvners  of  the  adjacent  stores.  There  is 
no  building  uoav  standing  on  the  east  side  of  Main  street,  betAveen  the  DAvight 
corner  and  Ferry  street,  AA^hich  Avas  standing  in  1799,  Avhen  the  DA\aght  corner 
store  Avas  built.  The  building  noAv  on  the  north  corner  of  Ferry  street  Avas 
then  occupied  by  Zebina  and  Thomas  Stebbins,  AA^ho  did  a  small  business.  In  1800 
there  Avere  but  f eAv  stores  in  toAvn  besides  the  DAvights'.     James  Byers  may  haA^e 


360  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

had  a  small  trade  in  connection  Avith  the  post-office  and  commissary,  with  Sol- 
omon Hatch,  as  clerk,  in  the  Edwards  store.  Col.  William  Smith  then  traded  in 
a  store,  with  Francis  Sexton  as  clerk,  where  Sanderson  now  is ;  Justin  Lom- 
bard, where  Swetland's  confectionery  store  now  is.  The  access  to  it  was  by  a 
plank  bridge  oAer  the  town  brook,  with  two  or  three  steps  doAvn  to  the  store 
floor.  Dr.  William  Sheldon  had  a  druggist's  store,  kept  by  Dr.  Elam  Bliss, 
where  H.  &,  J.  Brewer  now  are.  I  believe  Daniel  Lombard  kept  a  small  stock 
of  goods  on  the  corner  where  the  Chicopee  Bank  noAv  is.  Mr.  Lombard  suc- 
ceeded Mr.  Byers  as  postmaster,  and  kept  the  office  in  a  smalL  counting-room 
about  6  by  8  feet  square,  in  which  he  opened  all  the  mails  and  delivered 
letters.  Ebenezer  Tucker  had  a  bakery  about  where  Clark  &  Eldredge's  auction 
store  is,  and  he  may  have  kept  a  few  groceries.  In  my  early  days  it  was  a  beer 
store,  and  reputed  a  groggery.  There  was  in  1800  no  store  east  or  south  of  the 
DAvight  corner,  on  either  side  of  Main  or  State  streets. 

The  father  of  Mr.  Bliss  was  a  Springfield  man  of  great  miportaiice. 
He  was  a  lad  of  eleven  at  the  opening  of  the  Revolution.  "  Master 
George,"  as  he  was  called,  had  both  plebeian  and  aristocratic  blood 
in  his  veins.  His  great-great-grandmother  was  Mary  Pynchon,  a 
daughter  of  the  ''  Worshipful  Major,"  and  his  grandfather  was  the 
Avell-known  "  Jeddy"  Bliss,  the  Springfield  tanner,  heir  to  a  line  of 
tanners.  Young  Bliss  was  a  junior  at  Yale  when  the  last  British 
soldier  left  these  shores,  and  every  circumstance  of  his  bringing  up 
was  an  appeal  to  patriotic  and  useful  endeavor.  Five  years  after  his 
graduation  he  married  Hannah  Clark,  whose  grandmother  was  a  sister 
of  Jonathan  Edwards.  His  habit  of  close  application,  and  his  fond- 
ness for  the  intricacies  of  common-law  special  pleadings,  brought  him 
rapidly  to  the  front  upon  his  admission  to  the  bar.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  old  Hampshire  bar,  and  when  Hampden  county  was  formed 
he  was,  of  course,  entitled  to  practice  by  virtue  of  his  position. 

Mr.  Bliss's  name  is  associated  with  the  legal  troubles  that  accom- 
panied the  setting  off  of  the  lower  part  of  Hampshire  as  a  separate 
county  in  1812.  The  act  of  incorporation  decreed  that  the  new 
county  of  Hampden  should  come  into  existence  August  1,  1812,  and 
Gov.  Elbridge  Gerry  and  his  democratic  supporters  were   in  ortice. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6.  361 


The  state  elections  were  then  held  in  April.  The  excitement  through- 
ont  the  State  at  the  spring  elections  of  1812  was  intense.  In  spite  of 
everything,  the  federalist  peace  cry  was  sweeping  the  State.  While  in 
this  conservative  town  Gerry  polled  two  hundred  and  fifty  votes  and 
Caleb  Strong,  of  Northampton,  two  hundred  and  thirty-three,  the  lat- 
ter was  elected,  and  the  resistance  to  the  war  measures  against  Great 
Britain  was  at  once  begun.  Under  ordinary  circumstances  the  thing 
for  Governor  Gerry  to  have  done  was  to  refuse  to  meddle  with  the 
offices  that  were  to  come  into  existence  in  the  August  following  by 
the  incorporating  act  of  Hampden  county.  But  patronage  then,  as 
now,  had  its  charms,  and  under  great  provocation  he  was  induced,  on 
May  20,  to  appoint  Samuel  Fowler,  of  Westfield,  democrat,  probate 
judge  of  the  prospective  county,  and  three  days  later  he  made  Jona- 
than Smith,  Jr.,  of  Westfield,  another  democrat,  high  sheriff. 

This  greatly  irritated  the  federalists,  and  they  attempted  to  throw 
out  of  court  one  of  the  first  cases  in  which  Smith's  deputy  served  a 
warrant.  The  suit  was  Fowler  vs.  Beebe,  George  Bliss  appearing  for 
the  defendants.  He  argued  that  at  the  time  of  Smith's  commission 
as  sherift  no  such  office  existed.  It  was  possible  that  such  an  office 
would  exist  in  the  autumn  of  the  year,  and  that  Smith  would  be  a 
proper  person  to  fill  such  a  possible  office.  "  This  last,  however," 
added  Mr.  Bliss,  with  emphasis  made  cutting  by  political  bias,  "  in 
the  opinion  of  many,  is  ^  potentia  remotissima."  Mr.  Bliss  then  con- 
tinued :  "  This  appointment  is  also  void,  as  it  is  a  flagrant  infringe- 
ment of  the  rights  and  authorities  of  the  succeeding  executive  officers 
of  the  government  who  were  in  a  few  days  to  enter  upon  the  duties 
of  their  appointment,  and  would  be  in  the  exercise  of  their  offices 
more  than  two  months  before  the  county  of  Hampden  would  com- 
mence its  existence.  If  an  appointment  had  been  ever  so  neces- 
sary or  convenient  before  the  operation  of  the  act,  there  can  be  no 
pretence  that  such  necessity  or  convenience  existed  on  the  23d  of 
May.  But  it  is  a  sufficient  answer  to  the  argument  from  the  inconven- 
ience of  a  countv  being  without  officers  that  the  consideration  of  that 


362  SPRINGFIELD,     1636-1886. 

subject  belonged  to  the  Legislature.  They  might  have  provided  for 
the  case.  Not  having  thought  proper  to  do  it,  the  executive  had  no 
authority  to  substitute  itself ;  nor  will  it  be  expected  of  the  judiciary 
to  support  and  countenance  such  an  usurpation,  even  if  similar  ones 
may  have  been  practised."  Judge  Parsons  decided  that,  however  it 
might  be  determined  as  to  the  question  whether  Smith  was  sheriff  de 
jure,  he  was  sheriff  de  facto,  and  the  plea  in  abatement  was  accord- 
ingly overruled. 

The  federalists  returned  to  the  contest  at  the  April  term  of  the 
Supreme  Judicial  Court,  held  at  Northampton  in  1813,  by  assailing 
Samuel  Fowler's  commission  as  probate  judge  by  quo  warranto  pro- 
ceedings. Mr.  Bliss  and  Eli  P.  Ashmun  were  pitted  against  each  other, 
Mr.  Bliss  taking  the  place  of  the  solicitor-general,  who  was^  absent. 
In  reply  to  many  citations  of  precedents,  Mr.  Bliss  said  :  "  It  is, 
however,  to  be  hoped  that  executive  precedents  are  not  all  of  them  to 
be  established  by  law.  If  they  should  be,  our  government  would  be 
emphatically  a  government  of  men,  and  not  of  laws.  One  governor 
divides,  and  another  unites,  the  militia.  One  orders  detachments  from 
it,  and  another  declares  the  measure  unconstitutional.  One  waits 
until  there  is  an  office  before  an  officer  is  appointed,  and  another 
makes  appointments  before  the  law  has  created  an  office."  This 
time,  to  the  unbounded  delight  of  a  majority  of  the  county,  the  fed- 
eralists won ;  all  of  the  Gerry  appointments  fell  to  the  ground. 
When  Hampden  county  was  formed,  the  practising  attorneys  included 
George  Bliss,  William  Ely,  Jonathan  Dwight,  Jr.,  Oliver  B.  Morris, 
Samuel  Orne,  and  Edmund  Bliss.  Mr.  Morris  became  county  attor- 
ney, Edward  Pynchon  register  of  deeds,  and  John  Ingersoll,  of 
Westfield,  clerk  of  the  courts.  In  1813  John  Hooker  was  made  judge 
of  probate,  and  Oliver  B.  Morris  register  of  probate.  Edward  P^m- 
chon  was  the  first  county  treasurer,  and  held  the  office,  as  well  as  that 
of  register  of  deeds,  for  eighteen  years. 

We  find  that  as  early  as  1808  embargo  troubles  and  danger  of  war 
with  England  had  set  the  town-meeting   discussing  high  matters  of 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  363 


state.  A  memorial  to  Congress  was  proposed  in  April.  This  me- 
morial was  adopted  in  September.  In  mid- winter  (1809)  the  embargo 
was  denounced  as  "  disgraceful  in  its  origin,  oppressive  in  its  opera- 
tion, destructive  in  its  consequences,  and  fatal  to  the  Interest  and 
honour  of  our  Country  ;  "  the  act  of  Congress  giving  the  President 
power  to  enforce  the  embargo  is  called  a  violation  of  civil  liberty,  as 
it  "  prostrates  the  sovereignty  of  the  States  at  the  foot  of  the  Federal 
executive  ;  "  and  finally  the  town  looked  with  distrust  at  the  massing 
of  troops  by  the  United  States.  On  March  12,  1812,  the  town-meet- 
ing gathered  in  the  town-house,  but  adjourned  to  the  meeting-house 
in  the  afternoon.  The  old  selectmen,  Thomas- Dwight,  George  Bliss, 
John  Hooker,  and  Lieut.  George  Blake,  retired,  after  many  years' 
faithful  service,  and  new  men  were  called  to  the  front.  They  were 
Joshua  Frost,  Judah  Chapin,  and  Lieut.  Fleazer  Wright.  It  was  not 
until  three  weeks  had  passed  that  the  matter  was  settled  by  the 
addition  of  Edward  Pynchon,  Jonas  Coolidge,  Daniel  Lombard, 
Phineas  Chapin,  and  Asher  Bartlett  to  the  select  board.  Moses 
Chapin,  of  the  old  board,  was  reelected.  The  representatives  for 
1812  were  William  Sheldon,  Moses  Chapin,  and  Edmund  Dwight. 

In  July,  1812,  the  town  protested  against  war,  Chauncey  Brewer 
being  in  the  chair.  The  government  was  declared  a  "trust  for  the 
good  of  the  people,"  and  public  officers  "  the  Agents  of  the  People 
and  at  all  times  accountable  to  them."  The  war  was  called  a  "war 
of  aggression  and  conquest,  and  when  viewed  in  connection  with  our 
relations  to  France  as  threatening  the  extinction  of  the  Liberties  of 
the  people  of  the  United  States."  It  was  also  "Resolved,  that  we 
hold  in  utter  abhorrence  an  Alliance  with  France,  the  destroyer  of  all 
Republics  and  the  common  Enemy  of  every  free  and  independent 
state."  A  regretful  glance  was  cast  back  to  "that  high  ground  of 
real  and  impartial  neutraUty "  in  the  "days  of  Washington,  when 
Peace  with  all  Nations  and  entangling  Alliance  with  none  was  the 
motto." 

We  find,  also,  that  Springfield  considered  that  the  State  militia  was 


364  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

not  bound  to  march  in  obedience  to  any  authority  outside  the  State, 
nor  could  it  be  sent  by  the  State  outside  the  Territories  of  the  United 
States.  George  Bliss  headed  the  committee  which  drew  up  this  peti- 
tion to  the  President.  In  May,  1813,  the  representatives  Avere 
directed  to  use  their  influence  in  favor  of  a  restoration  of  peace,  as 
the  "people  of  the  Commercial  States  have  no  Interest  in  contending 
for  the  principle  that  our  Flag  shall  protect  British  subjects  to  the 
exclusion  and  injury  of  our  native  seamen." 

Springfield  thus  had  thrown  her  lot  against  the  war  party,  and 
when  Gov.  Caleb  Strong  and  the  Legislature  were  looking  over  the 
field  of  western  Massachusetts  for  the  best  men  to  represent  this 
section  at  the  famous  Hartford  convention,  George  Bliss,  of  Spring- 
field, was  immediately  selected.  The  record  of  the  Blisses  upon  this 
question  was  all  that  a  federalist  governor  could  liave  wished.  In 
August,  1814,  when  a  British  fleet  was  discovered  off  the  New  England 
coast,  and  a  call  for  troops  liad  immediateh^  folloAved,  Gen.  Jacob 
Bliss,  of  Springfield,  started  with  the  old  Hampshire  militia  brigade, 
having  upon  his  staff  Master  George's  son  George,  who  served  with 
the  rank  of  captain.  Governor  Strong  and  LaAvyer  Bliss  had  been 
often  pitted  against  each  other  at  the  bar,  and  they  were  both,  of 
course,  stalwart  federalists. 

We  have  not  to  do  here  with  the  proceedings  of  the  secret  conven- 
tion held  in  the  council  chamber  of  the  State-house  at  Hartford  at  the 
close  of  the  year  1814.  We  know  that  "  Master  "  George's  son, 
having  returned  from  Boston  with  the  troops,  drove  his  father  from 
Springfield  down  to  Hartford  in  a  chaise  to  that  convention.  Mr. 
Bliss  served  upon  several  important  committees,  and  in  a  volume 
printed  some  3^ears  later  by  Theodore  Dwight,  secretary  of  the  con- 
vention, the  author  took  occasion  to  refer  to  George  Bliss  as  a  lawyer 
of  extensive  learning  and  "most  unshaken  independence,  both  of 
principle  and  conduct."  He  also  said:  "  Xo  man  ever  passed 
through  life  with  a  fairer  reputation  for  integrity,  or  in  a  more  entire 
possession  of  the  confidence  of  the  community  in  which  he  resided." 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-ISS6.  365 


Springfield  was  not  such  ii  terrible  sufferer  as  in  the  Shays's  re- 
bellion times.  Money  was  light,  business  unsettled,  and  anxiety 
great.  In  1816  the  town  appropriations  were  :  Highways  and 
bridges,  $550;  poor,  $1,250;  schools,  $750;  contingencies,  etc., 
$1,819.     The  town  had  to  borrow  $1,000  to  meet  its  floating  debt. 

AYe  can  linger  a  moment  over  the  career  of  George  Bliss,  who,  in 
these  struggles,  had  shown  a  devotion  to  self-government  which  his 
father  and  John  AYorthington  in  the  previous  generation  had  shown 
for  their  tory  principles.  Mr.  Bliss's  knowledge  of  the  law  was  most 
profound,  and  the  zeal  with  which  he  conducted  the  studies  of  young 
men  and  engaged  in  examinations  for  their  benefit  might  easily  have 
led  to  the  establishment  of  a  law  school  in  Springfield,  if  there  had 
been  a  college  to  which  it  could  be  attached.  Indeed,  he  did  prepare 
a  course  of  lectures,  and  had  quite  a  law  class  started  here.  He  was 
considered  a  great  oracle  on  all  knotty  questions.  AVhen  once  a 
young  lawyer  came  to  him  for  counsel  he  said,  with  mingled  annoy- 
ance and  pride  (for  he  fully  understood  the  advantages  and  disad- 
vantages of  fame)  :  ''  That  is  just  the  way !  If  a  lawyer  has  got  a 
complicated  case  that  nobody  can  understand,  then  it  is  all  '  Master 
George  ! '  ^  Master  George  ! '  But  if  it  is  a  plain  matter,  then  off  he 
goes  to  Oliver,  or  George,  or  Willard."  William  G.  Bates  used  to  tell 
a  capital  story  as  to  Mr.  Bliss's  penchant  for  severe  technicalities. 
Bliss  had  entered  a  successful  plea  in  abatement  over  a  slight  inac- 
curacy in  terms,  and  the  opposing  lawyer,  when  subsequently  reading 
a  writ,  confounded  the  court  with  the  words  :  '^  For  that  the  said  de- 
fendant, in  the  year  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ  —  " 
' '  What  is  the  occasion  of  that  profanity  ? ' '  asked  the  judge.  ' '  AVhy, 
I  thought  that  if  I  did  not  allege  what  Lord  it  was,  my  cousin 
George  would  plead  in  abatement !  " 

The  mastery  of  technicalities  of  the  law,  for  which  Air.  Bliss  was 
noted,  caused  him  to  look  Avitli  suspicion  upon  the  tendency  of  younger 
lawyers  for  simpler  modes  of  practice.  AVhen  special  pleading  was 
being  pushed  aside,  he  said  that  he  would  not  favor  its  revival ;  but  he 


366  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


added  :  "  The  tendency  of  our  practice  in  permitting  every  deviation 
from  established  forms  to  pass  unnoticed  is  to  introduce  uncertainty 
and  confusion  into  our  judicial  proceedings.  It  cannot  fail  to  induce 
a  habit  of  carelessness  and  indifference,  and  eventually  great  ignorance 
of  correct  practice." 

The  demands  of  public  and  professional  life,  and  a  succession  of 
three  wives,  increased  the  austerities  of  family  discipline.  Bliss  was 
a  thorough  orthodox  Congregationalist.  Strong  Master  George  of 
the  law  was  the  stern  Deacon  Bliss  of  the  First  Church.  Georsre 
Bliss,  the  son,  in  an  unpublished  account  of  his  own  life,  draws  the 
following  interesting  picture  of  his  early  training :  "  I  attended  the 
common  district  school  kept  by  a  female  until  eight  years  old  (1801), 
and  then  was  transferred  .to  the  school  kept  by  a  man.  Out^f  school 
I  wandered  about  the  streets  or  engaged  in  play  with  every  boy  I 
could  find.  My  father  when  at  home  was  very  rigid  in  his  family 
government  and  discipline,  controlling  me  more  by  fear  than  by  affec- 
tion, as  was  the  wont  in  those  days.  .  .  Afterward  I  was  sent 
to  the  district  school,  and  my  most  ardent  i*ecollections  there  are  of 
the  master's  ferule  or  rod,  with  which  I  made  close  acquaintance 
almost  daily.  I  do  not  recollect  that  anybody  at  home  inquired  about 
my  proficiency  at  school  or  aided  in  my  instruction,  except  occasion- 
ally an  examination  into  my  ability  to  repeat  the  assembly's  catechism, 
which  in  those  days  was  taught  us  by  Rev.  Bezaleel  Howard."  A 
member  of  the  family  of  the  present  day  says  that  he  has  the  impres- 
sion from  the  family  tradition  that  Master  George  was  "  cold,  learned, 
dry,  just,  hard,  unlovable  ;  but  even  this  is  only  an  impression,  and 
may  do  him  injustice."  But  it  need  not  be  to  his  prejudice,  we  may 
remark,  if  one  remembers  the  age  in  which  he  lived. 

George  Bliss  lived  at  a  time  when  his  profession,  and  in  fact  society 
at  large,  was  undergoing  a  change.  He  saw  and  recognized  its  force, 
but  he  still  lived  in  perpetual  protest  to  many  innovations.  He 
grieved  to  see  a  favorite  son  of  his  join  the  Unitarian  church,  and  he 
looked  with  solicitude  at  the  number  of  young  men  admitted  to  the 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6.  367 


bar  who  were  strangers  to  the  staid  traditions  of  the  profession.  We 
talk  nowadays  of  our  rapid  progress ;  but  the  revolutions  in  society 
in  New  England  from  1700  to  1776,  or  during  George  Bliss's  lifetime 
(1764-1830),  were  more  marked,  all  things  considered,  than  anything 
we  have  since  witnessed.  Mr.  Bliss  had  heard  his  father  deliver  a 
plea  dressed  in  a  gown,  wig,  silk  stockings,  shining  shoe-buckles,  and 
he  lived  to  see  his  son  confront  a  bench  of  judges  in  a  gray 
business   suit. 

The  town  acts  were  unimportant  during  this  period.  Measures 
were  taken  in  1800  to  dispose  of  the  ministry  and  school  lands  still  in 
ite  possession  on  the  west  side  of  the  river.  The  money  realized 
therefrom  was  devoted  to  a  poor-house,  which  was  the  building  occu- 
pied then  by  Ebenezer  Hitchcock,  being  a  part  of  the  Worthington 
estate.  It  was  secured  for  $666.  All  "  Idle  or  Strolling  Negroes '_' 
were  subsequently  sent  to  the  work -house,,  and  the  expenses  for  the 
poor  show  that  this  institution  was  not  a  lonely  and  vacant  place. 
The  First  Parish  in  1806  sold  the  old  ministry  lot,  Avhich  had  been 
occupied  for  that  purpose  since  the  days  of  Rev.  George  Moxon. 

The  distillery  was  partly  burned  out  in  1808,  and  the  town  abated 
a  portion  of  its  taxes.  The  last  appearance  of  pounds,  shillings,  and 
pence  in  the  town  records  is  November,  1795.  In  1806  the  tax  rate 
voted  was  "  two  thousand  and  ninety-eight  Dollars  twenty-five  cents 
and  four  mills."  In  1814  the  practice  of  voting  the  annual  appro- 
priations in  November  was  abandoned,  and  from  this  time  on,  for 
many  years,  both  the  election  of  officers  and  the  financial  concerns  of 
the  town  were  attended  to  in  the  spring.  The  Baptists  wanted  to 
hold  meetings  in  the  town-house  in  1809,  but  were  refused.  The 
time  for  a  broader  rehgious  toleration  was  fast  coming,  however.  Prej- 
udices were  being  pushed  to  the  wall  by  a  national  process  of  devel- 
opment. In  medicine  we  see  a  marked  change.  "Inoculation  of 
the  Kine  pock,"  for  example,  was  now  regularly  practised,  under  the 
supervision  of  a  town  committee. 

The  appearance  of  the  village  had  improved  since  the  shabby  post- 


368  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

revolutionary  days.  In  1800  the  town  brook,  which  was  also  known 
as  Garden  brook,  had  become  filled  up  with  rubbish.  This  over- 
flowed the  meadows  to  the  east,  and  caused  sickness.  The  bed  of 
the  stream  was  accordingly  deepened.  There  was  a  raised  sidewalk 
in  1810  on  the  west  side  of  Main  street,  running  from  the  gate  which 
still  led  into  the  ''plain  field"  to  Zebina  Stebbins's  place,  and  from 
Samuel  Lyman's  place,  then  deceased,  on  the  opposite  corner,  to  the 
"  Bridge  lane,"  from  the  lane  to  Meeting-house  lane,  and  from 
Meeting-house  lane  to  the  home  lot  of  Samuel  Burt,  deceased. 
There  was  also  a  sidewalk  on  the  south  side  of  Meeting-house 
lane. 

Among  the  new  men  that  had  come  to  the  front  was  William  Ely, 
who  is  supposed  to  have  lived  on  Main  street,  just  south  of  the  old 
jail  tavern.  Thus,  in  1804  the  representative  vote  stood :  William 
Ely,  59  ;  William  Smith,  13 ;  George  Bliss,  8 ;  James  Byers,  4. 
This  was  a  light  vote,  for  in  November  of  the  same  year  Ely  polled 
136  votes  as  congressman  against  84  for  Samuel  Fowler.  Jonathan 
Dwight,  Jr.,  succeeded  Ely  as  representative  in  1805.  William  Ely 
was  a  Yale  graduate,  and  was  a  federalist  member  of  Congress  from 
1805  to  1815,  which  was  within  two  years  of  his  death.  Mr.  El}^ 
advocated  in  Congress,  in  December,  1806,  the  death  penalty  for 
those  importing  slaves  to  the  United  States,  and  in  January,  1813, 
he  made  quite  an  extended  speech  in  the  House  against  the  classifi- 
cation of  the  militia  of  the  United  States,  which  was  urged  by  the 
Southern  members.  Mr.  Ely  seems  to  have  been  very  direct  and 
business-like  in  his  methods,  choice  of  his  words,  and  not  given  to 
bitter  sentiments,  although  his  con^'ictions  ran  deep  during  these 
troublous  times. 

We  cannot  dwell  at  any  length  over  the  new  men.  Thomas  Dwight 
was  a  favorite  for  moderator  in  this  period  ;  so  were  George  Bliss  and 
Oliver  B.  Morris.  The  town  collector  of  taxes  in  1803  was  Pitt 
Bliss,  and  to  him  was  committed  no  less  than  five  separate  rate 
lists,  —  town,  county,  state,  parish,  and  district.     Pitt  Bliss  was  also 


SmiNGFIELD,    1036-1SS6.  369 

a  constable.  The  following  year  William  Pynchon  declined  to  serve 
as  clerk  ^\\y  longer,  and  Edward  Pynclion  was  chosen  in  his  place. 
AVilliam  received  a  generous  vote  of  thanks  for  his  long  services. 
John  Hooker  appears  upon  the  select  board. 

We  will  here  give  a  full  list  of  officers  of  1808,  in  order  to  show 
some  of  the  changes  that  time  was  making  in  the  personnel  of  the 
town  :  — 

Moderator,  Jonathan  Dwight  ;  clerk  and  treasurer,  Edward  Pynchon  ; 
selectmen,  Thomas  Dwight,  George  Bliss,  Major  Moses  Chapin,  Rufus  Sikes, 
and  Johii  Hooker ;  overseers  of  the  poor,  Justin  Lombard,  Judah  Chapin, 
Walter  Stebbins,  Jonathan  Dwight,  Jr.,  and  Zebina  Stebbins;  tythingmen, 
Edmund  Dwight,  Oliver  B.  Morris,  Erastus  Chapin,  and  Samuel  Orne;  assess- 
ors, Zebina  Stebbins,  Moses  Chapin,  and  Pitt  Bliss ;  hog-reeves,  Lewis  Good- 
now,  Frederick  Burt,  and  Frederick  Chapin;  field-drivers,  Silas  Hohon,  Martin 
Burt,  Thaddeus  Ferre,  Lewis  Kobinson,  Joseph  Robinson,  Calvin  Cooley,  Caleb 
Simons,  Ithamer  Stebbins,  and  AVilliam  Gaylord ;  pound-keeper,  Preserved 
White ;  sealers  of  leather,  Dormer  Chapin  and  Pitt  Bhss  ;  fence-vieAvers,  Festus 
Stebbins,  Moses  Burt,  Jr.,  J.  A.  McKlnstry,  James  Meloin,  William  Sheldon, 
Levi  Stedman;  firewards,  Moses  Burt,  Jr.,  Major  Jacob  Bliss,  Benjamin  Pres- 
cott,  Elisha  Tobey,  George  Bliss,  Frederick  Chapin,  Luther  Hitchcock,  Zebina 
Stebbins,  and  James  Byers,  Jr.  ;  surveyors  of  shingles  and  clapboards,  Jacob 
Bliss,  Joseph  Pease,  William  Chapin,  Jr.,  Festus  Bhss,  Pelatiah  Bliss,  and 
Joseph  Griswold;  surveyors  of  highways,  Abel  Chapin,  David  Arms,  and 
Thomas  Stebbins ;  constables,  Henry  Brewer  and  Oliver  Chapin,  Jr.  ;  collector, 
Jacob  Bliss. 

Springfield  sent  four  representatives  to  the  General  Court  in  1810, 
—  Moses  Chapin,  Jacob  Bliss,  Oliver  B.  Morris,  and  Edmund  Dwight. 
Four  years  later  the  list  was  reduced  to  three, — Samuel  Orne, 
pAlmund  Bliss,  and  Joseph  Pease. 

The  first  proposals  for  a  bridge  over  the  great  river  were  received 
with  ridicule.  "  Parson  Howard  talks  like  a  fool,"  said  Colonel  Wor- 
thington,  in  1786,  when  the  reverend  gentleman  predicted  such  an 
engineering  event.  But  the  bridge  was  a  necessity,  and  it  came.  It 
was  the  younger  men  that  carried  the  day,  and  October  30,  1805,  the 


370  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1S86. 

bridge  was  opened.  The  fact  that  fiuaucially  it  was  the  child  of  a 
lottery  did  not  prevent  the  famous  Dr.  Joseph  Lathrop,  of  West 
Springfield,  from  delivering  a  dedicatory  sermon  and  offering  pra^^er  in 
the  presence  of  some  three  thousand  people  gathered  upon  the  bridge. 
The  church  bells  were  rung,  cannon  fired,  and  the  people  split  their 
throats  in  their  rejoicings.  The  bridge  was  a  creditable  piece  of 
engineering  for  the  times,  it  being  considered  equal  to  anything  in 
America ;  but  a  succession  of  floods  weakened  it,  and  it  gave  wa}'  to 
a  heavy  load  of  army  supplies,  nine  years  later.  It  has  recently  been 
incorrectly  stated  that  the  designer  or  builder  is  not  known.  A  great 
many  complimentrr}'  things  were  said  at  the  time  of  the  master- 
builder,  Jonathan  Wolcot,  of  Windham,  Conn.,  who  had  charge  of  the 
work.  The  piers  and  stone-work  were  done  under  a  Worcester 
county  contractor,  named  Israel  Reed.  We  are  informed  that  he  had 
under  him  masons  who  were  "  artists  in  that  branch  of  the  business." 
The  bridge  was  an  open  one,  painted  red,  was  1,234  feet  long,  30 
feet  wide,  and  stretched  40  feet  above  low-water  mark.  The  six 
spans  were  supported  by  two  abutments  and  five  piers,  each  pier  and 
abutment  containing  about  2,000  tons  of  stone.  Two  guard  piers  to 
check  the  force  of  the  ice  were  built  80  rods  above  the  bridge ; 
the  curve  in  each  arch  was  187  feet.  A  local  paper  remarks  with 
pride  in  1805,  just  after  it  was  opened:  "This  bridge  is  so  con- 
structed with  frames  upon  each  pier  connected  by  long  timbers  with 
the  arches  that  the  traveller  passes  over  nearly  the  whole  extent 
of  it  on  an  elevated  plane,  affording  a  view  of  extensive  landscapes 
in  which  are  blended  well-cultivated  fields,  pleasant  villages,  rivers, 
meadows,  lofty  mountains,  and  indeed  a  wildness  and  variety  in  the 
beauties  of  nature  which  is  highly  gratifying  to  the  eye."  This 
clumsy  and  indeed  grotesque  structure,  so  arranged  that  the 
traveller  was  compelled  to  go  up  and  down  with  the  curves  of  each 
span,  was  pulled  down  soon  after  the  freshets  of  1814.  It  had  cost 
$36,270,  and  the  following  tolls  were  charged  :  Foot  passengers,  3 
cents ;     horse    and    rider,   7   cents ;     Horse     and     chaise,     chair    or 


SPRINGFIELD.    1636-1SS6.  371 

sulky,  IC)  cents;  chariot,  phaeton,  or  other  four-wheeled  carriages 
for  passengers,  33  cents;  curricle,  25  cents;  horse  and  sleigh,  1(1 
cents  ;  neat  cattle,  3  cents  ;  sheep  or  swine,  1  cent. 

The  second  toll-bridge  was  opened  to  the  public  October  1,  1816, 
at  a  cost  of  §22,000.  In  November  the  advertisement  of  H.  Brewer 
appeared  in  a  local  paper  in  this  style  :  ''  There's  a  tide  now  flowing 
and  is  almost  flood  tide.  Springfield  bridge  lotter^^  is  a  fine  tide  of 
riches.  Improve  it.  Set  ever}^  sail.  Soon  it  will  be  too  late.  The 
26th  is  at  hand."  According  to  a  large  hand-bill  issued  by  the  man- 
agers,—  N.  Freeman,  Justin  Ely,  Jr.,  and  Jonathan  Dwight,  Jr., — 
and  dated  Boston,  ^Marcli,  1816,  the  toothsome  particulars  of  a  re- 
arranged scheme  had  been  dwelt  upon  in  very  large  letters.  The 
head-lines  ran:  "All  prizes  —  No  Blanks  and  no  Deduction  — 
Springfield  Bridge  Lottery  —  First  Class  Scheme."  The  tickets  were 
$6  each,  so  that  the  profits  to  the  bridge  company,  not  allowing  for 
expenses  and  commission  on  sales,  would  be  only  $11,000.  Some  five 
hundred  numbers  were  drawn  per  day,  and  accordingly  for  two  weeks 
the  local  public  was  served  with  a  series  of  conflicting  sensations. 
There  were  several  drawings  in  this  town,  and  at  least  one  local 
tavern  scene  is  recalled  where  little  girls,  dressed  in  white  frocks,  per- 
formed the  office  of  drawing  the  numbers.  The  Harvard  college 
lotter}',  which  was  running  in  1807,  was  well  patronized  in  Spring- 
field. One  of  the  men  of  Springfield  who  offered  Harvard  college 
lottery-tickets  for  sale  was  Landlord  Eleazer  Williams.  Williams  is 
remembered  as  a  man  who  divided  his  time  and  peculiar  genius  im- 
partially between  the  ruffle  in  his  bosom  and  the  mixing  of  toddies, 
for  which  he  was  famous  in  these  parts.  It  is  recorded  in  the 
"  Hampshire  Federalist  "  that  Williams  sold  the  ticket  which  drew  a 
$5,000  prize  in  the  Harvard  lottery  ;  but  the  name  of  the  luck}^  ticket- 
ow^ner  is  not  known.  We  find  that  lottery- tickets  were  offered  for 
sale  here  by  J.  &  E.  Dwight,  Moses  Bliss  &  Co.,  H.  Brewer,  and 
others. 

In  1816  James  S.  Dwight,  Samuel  Lathrop,  and  Josiah  I).  Whitne}^ 


372 


SPRIXGFIELD,    1636-2S86. 


acted  as  the  managing  committee  (^f  the  second  Springfield  bridge 
incorporators.  This  latter  bridge  was  partly  carried  away  in  1818 
and  restored  in  1820,  and  has  done  much  service  until  this  day.  The 
tolls  were  abolished  in  1872.  It  is  a  longer  bridge,  and  not  as  high 
as  the  first  one,  and   is   an    exceedino-ly  interestins;  structure.      The 


The  Old  Toll-Bridge. 


foot-path  on  the  south  side  of  the  bridge  was  added  in  1878.  One 
cannot  wander  through  this  tunnel  of  early,  hand-hewn  Xew  England 
timber  and  not  see  at  every  step  the  records  of  the  years. 

President  Monroe  passed  over  the  bridge  upon  his  famous  New 
England  tour  in  1817.  It  was  a  very  important  occasion  politi- 
cally and  socially  for  this  valley,  and  Massachusetts  also.  The 
opening  of  the  bridge  and  the  visit  of  Monroe  may  almost  be  said  to 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  373 


mark  a  uew  era.  The  bitterness  in  politics  occasioned  b}^  the  em- 
bargo had  been  carried  even  to  the  breaking  up  of  families.  It  was 
not,  however,  quite  so  bad  as  at  the  election  of  Jefferson,  when  manj^ 
New  England  women  hid  their  Bibles  in  the  belief  that  the  Virginian 
would  inaugan-ate  a  system  of  persecution  against  Puritanism. 

Monroe  had  been  so  well  received  at  New  York  and  elsewhere 
that  by  the  time  he  reached  our  bridge  he  was  greeted  by  a  thoroughly 
cordial  community.  When  the  visiting  chief  magistrate  reached  the 
Massachusetts  line  from  Connecticut,  ascending  the  west  bank  of 
the  river,  he  found  sixty  Springfield  citizens  upon  horseback,  many 
of  them  in  military  uniform,  as  well  as  scores  in  carriages,  making 
a  procession  half  a  mile  long.  As  they  approached  the  village 
Captain  Warriner  had  assembled  his  company  of  artillery  at  the 
bridge,  where  also  a  crowd  had  gathered.  The  church  bells  were  rung, 
and  a  federal  salute  was  fired.  Old  inhabitants  can  recall  that 
memorable  day  :  how  a  formal  address  was  presented  the  President 
when  he  arrived  at  the  Parsons  tavern,  then  kept  In'  Captain  Ben- 
nett ;  the  visit  to  the  armory,  and  the  re\dew  of  four  hundred  and  ten 
school-children.  President  Monroe  was  much  interested  in  the  little 
ones,  and  he  said  to  the  committee  of  entertainment  standing  beside 
him  on  the  veranda  of  Parsons  tavern,  "  I  am  much  pleased  and  grati- 
fied with  their  appearance,  and  pray  God  to  bless  them,  and  you  to 
carry  your  good  designs  into  effect."  They  say  that  men  fraternized 
after  the  Monroe  visit  who  had  not  spoken  to  each  other  for  years. 

Springfield  had  entered  the  century  with  a  population  of  2,312, 
which  was  less  than  the  West  Springfield  figures.  Even  with  the 
armory  population  the  west  side  still  led.  The  struggle  was  severe, 
ten  years  later  Springfield  having  2,767  inhabitants  and  West  Spring- 
field 3,109.  But  in  1820  the  village  had  risen  to  3,914,  with  West 
Springfield  a  good  second  at  3,246,  —  the  first  time  the  village  had 
secured  the  advantage  in  the  memory  of  any  man  then  living. 

Both  business  and  church  activities  were  marked.  In  March,  1814, 
the  Springfield  bank  (the  first  local  bank  of  discount)  was  organized 


374  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1880. 

at  Uncle  Jerry  Warriner's  tavern.  This  was  a  part  of  a  movement 
in  favor  of  bank  expansion.  In  1811  the  first  United  States  bank 
had  been  refused  a  renewal  of  its  charter  b}^  Congress,  and  this  de- 
veloped the  State  banks.  The  New  England  banks  did  not  suspend 
specie  payments,  as  was  the  case  elsewhere.  The  Springfield  bank, 
like  others,  kept  a  deposit  of  specie  at  the  Suffolk  Bank  of  Boston, 
and  it  was  no  unusual  thing  for  a  cashier  to  bring  back,  by  stage, 
$50,000  or  $100,000  in  bills  in  his  valise.  The  Springfield  Bank 
became  the  Second  National  Bank  in  1863. 

In  1820  an  invention  was  made  at  the  armory  which  gives  Spring- 
field a  notable  place  in  the  annals  of  mechanism.  Tliomas  Blanch- 
ard's  machine  for  turning  irregular  forms  was  introduced  at  the 
armory,  under  Col.  Roswell  Lee,  the  forerunner  of  the  "  interehange- 
able  system,"  —  a  device  which  has  revolutionized  the  whole  subject  of 
manufacture,  and  is  only  next  in  importance  to  the  great  inventions 
of  steam  and  telegraphy.  Other  places  have  claimed  the  credit  of 
this  great  inventive  discovery,  but  we  think  unsuccessfully  ;  and  were 
we  to  give  a  history  of  industrial  Springfield,  we  would  be  justified 
in  devoting  a  whole  chapter  to  this  subject.  ^Manufacture  has  been 
completely  revolutionized  by^  the  interchangeable  system,  which  has 
made  it  possible  for  Americans  to  undersell  Swiss  watchmakers  in 
their  own  country,  put  cheaper  and  better  pistols  and  rifles  in  foreign 
markets  ;  and,  indeed,  compelled  other  nations  to  take  lessons  of  us 
in  practical  mechanics. 

It  was  during  this  period,  also,  that  Springfield  started  an  interest 
in  secret  societies  which  has  given  the  town  and  city  such  a  position 
in  the  world  of  chaptered  fraternities.  The  Hampden  masonic  lodge 
was  formed  in  ]\Iarch,  1817.  Its  meetings  were  discontinued  during 
the  Morgan  excitement  from  1832  to  1846,  which  will  be  spoken  of 
hereafter.  It  would  not  be  surprising  to  see  a  masonic  temple  here 
before  many  years,  contributing  materially  to  the  appearance  of  the 
city  architecturally. 

The  slave  had  gradually  lost  his  hold  here,   and  it  is  mentioned 


•c 


'^ 


'fi 


(i^-' 


SPRING  FIEL  D,    1 636-1 8S6. 


S71 


by  natural  beut.  How  wisely,  and  with  what  inoffensive  firmness, 
he  conducted  the  controversy  with  tlie  First  Cliurch  may  be  seen  in 
the  tracts  issued  at  the  time  over  the  ''  old  "  and  "  new  "  theology. 


I  |l  1 


The  Old  Town  House,  State  Street. 


His  personal  virtues  and  gifts  are  more  tlian  a  tradition.     Men  still 
talk  of  Parson  Howard,  and  honor  his  memory. 

Jonathan  D wight,  who  was  one  of  the  men  electing  to  die  in  old- 
fashioned  small-clothes,  but  a  newer  religious  faith,  was  the  wheel- 
horse  of  the  new  organization.  D wight  offered  to  build  a  house  of 
worship  for  the  new  society,  which  was  incorporated  February  15, 
1819,  provided  the  rest  of  the  congregation  would  establish  a  fund 
for  the  permanent  support  of  the  minister,  to  which  there  was  a  ready 


378  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1S86. 

and  substantial  response.  The  corner-stone  of  the  church,  situated 
on  State  street  (Kirkham  and  Ohnsted  block),  was  laid  May  20, 
1819,  and  in  Jul}^  of  the  following  year  a  call  was  extended  to  Rev. 
William  B.  O.  Peabody,  and  he  was  ordained  October  20.  ]Mr.  Pea- 
body  was  a  complete  counterpart  of  Dr.  Osgood,  and  when  it  is  said 
that  they  became  friends,  it  is  onl}^  offering  a  tribute  to  the  character 
of  both.  The  stalwart  Calvinist  could  shake  hands  with  the  mild- 
eyed  Unitarian,  and  in  time  the  two  congregations  came  to  look  upon 
their  old  dissensions  with  the  pleasurable  feelings  of  the  antiquarian. 

But  the  building  fever  was  contagious.  The  First  Church  was 
engaged  upon  its  new  house  of  worship,  with  its  tall  pillars,  that  now 
seem  so  ancient. 

AYe  have  before  referred  to  the  court-house  (Sanford  street,  built  in 
1720),  which  was  used  as  a  town-hall.  It  was  occupied  by  the  courts 
until  1820,  when  a  new  court-house  (present  Odd  Fellows  hall)  was 
built ;  but  the  old  building  was  used  as  a  town-hall  eight  years  later, 
when  the  State-street  town-hall  was  built  on  land  owned  by  the  First 
Parish,  which  took  the  building  as  part  pa3\  and  moved  it  back  on 
Market  street,  where  meetings  were  held.  It  was  finall}^  disposed  of 
to  the  South  Church,  which  in  turn  passed  it  on  to  be  used  as  a  car- 
riage-shop. 

The  need  of  a  new  court-house,  and  the  building  of  the  church, 
which  latter  was  dedicated  in  August,  1819,  led  to  the  project  of  a 
public  square,  so  much  needed.  The  D wights  wanted  it  located  some- 
where on  State  street,  but  the  First  Church  people  and  Main-street 
business  men  struggled  to  some  purpose.  Daniel  Bontecou,  Edward 
Pynchon,  Eleazer  Williams,  James  Wells,  Justice  Willard,  and  others 
raised  $3,000,  bought  the  land  constituting  Court  square,  and  deeded 
it  to  Hampden  county  in  April,  1821,  and  in  this  year  the  new  court- 
house (Odd  Fellows  hall)  was  occupied.  Modern  Springfield  begins 
from  this  point ;  and  so  it  was  through  honest  enmities,  a  considerate 
spirit,  and  the  friction  of  business,  religion,  and  politics,  that  the  town 
screw  and  waxed  stronsf  in  limb. 


CHAPTER   XVIT. 

1821-1831. 

The  "Federal  Spy"  ami  "Hampshire  Federalist." —  Samuel  Bowles,  the  First. — New 
Blood  iu  the  Village.  —  The  Characters  of  William  B.  Calhoun,  John  Mills,  Oliver  B. 
Morris,  and  George  Bliss,  Jr.  —  Philanthropy. —  The  Colonization  Society.  —  Popu- 
lation.—  Fourth  of  July  Celebration. — Political  Banquets  — River  Traffic. — River 
Steamers. —  Stages. —  Factories.  —  Postmaster  Lombard. —  Politics. — The  Poor-House. 
—  Selectmen  from  1822  to  1826.  —  Destruction  of  the  Pynchon  Fort.  —  Temperance 
Society.  —  Jackson's  Triumph.  —  Masonry.  —  Chapman  &  Ashmun.  —  Military  Com- 
panies.—  Ancient  Trees,  —  Fire  Department. — Lawlessness.  — Death  of  Jonathan 
Dwight.  —  Commerce  on  the  River. 

The  "  Federal  Spy  "  had  passed  into  the  liaiids  of  Tmiothy  Ashley 
in  1799,  when  he  took  in  Henry  Brewer  (father  of  H.  &  J.  Brewer), 
who  became  sole  proprietor  in  1803,  and  in  turn  the  property  passed 
to  Luther  Baker  in  1805,  and  Thomas  Dickman  m  1806,  when  the 
paper  was  called  "  The  Hampshire  Federalist."  A.  G.  Tannatt  & 
Co.  followed  Dickman  in  1819,  a  year  after  the  establishment  of  the 
"  Hampden  Patriot"  by  Dr.  Ira  Daniels,  and  lingered  till  about  1824, 
when  Samuel  Bowles,  a  Hartford  printer,  started  the  "  Springfield 
Republican."  Mr.  Bowles  came  from  a  Roxbury  family  of  quality. 
He  had  rare  good  judgment,  was  odd  in  appearance,  of  a  scholarly 
temperament,  though  denied  a  college  training,  and  ambitious  be- 
yond the  capabilities  of  a  weak  body.  He  had  as  an  ancestor 
John  Eliot,  the  Indian  missionary,  while  the  young  woman  whom 
he  married  was  a  descendant  of  Miles  Standish.  The  early  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Bowles  family  were  church  elders,  members  of  tlie 
General  Court,  or  town  officials,  and  usually  college  educated  ;  the 
later  members  of  the  family,  on  whom  rested  the  burden  of  a  paper 
that  became  an  institution  in  this  country,  as  a  rule  declined  positions 


380  SPRIXGFIELD,    1636~1SS6. 

of  Church  and  State,  while  the  college  course  was  not  permitted 
them.  Mr.  Bowles  entered  upon  his  newspaper  venture  just  in  time 
to  have  a  hand  in  shaping  the  reorganization  of  parties  in  this  region, 
and  to  stand  behind  and  lend  aid  and  enconragement  to  the  business 
men  of  the  community  who  were  bent  upon  taking  invention  by  the 
hand,  that  w^ealth  might  follow.  The  old  federal  and  democratic 
parties  were  disintegrating,  and  Mr.  Bowles  started  out  as  the  local 
organ  of  the  national  republican  party,  which  was  really  the  demo- 
cratic party ;  but  Mr.  Bowles  passed  to  the  whig  party,  and  sup- 
ported Le\'i  Lincoln  for  governor  in  1825.  The  first  number  of  the 
weekly  '^  Republican  "  appeared  September  8.  1824,  and  was  issued 
on  Wednesdays  from  a  modest  little  office  opposite  the  present  Chico- 
pee  Bank.  The  "  Hampden  Patriot"  had  been  discontinued.  There 
was  a  national  republican  (democratic)  majority  in  Hampden  county 
and  in  Hampshire  county  ;  the  party  had  a  good  footing ;  but  Mr. 
Bowles  found  that  he  could  not  work  for  the  best  interests  of  his 
State  and  the  democracy  at  the  same  time,  and  so  changed  the  politi- 
cal complexion  of  the  paper.  His  whig  affiliations  continued  until 
the  coalition  of  1848  and  the  formation  of  the  republican  party. 

Springfield  was  even  at  this  early  day  an  important  factor  in  State 
politics,  due  in  a  measure  to  the  able  men  gathered  at  the  Hampden 
bar.  AYe  find  the  names  of  George  Bliss,  Jr.,  William  B.  Calhoun, 
Justice  WiUard,  and  John  Mills,  figuring  frequentl}^  on  the  pages  of 
the  press  from  this  period  down  for  many  years.  Mr.  Calhoun  early 
took  an  interest  in  public  affairs  ;  but  he  was  a  contemplative,  serious 
man,  who  dwelt  upon  problems,  social  and  political,  with  the  spirit 
of  a  philosopher,  rather  than  upon  the  manipulation  of  caucuses.  He 
inspired  confidence  rather  than  enthusiastic  admiration,  and  during  a 
long  public  career  was  in  turn  State  representative,  congressman. 
State  senator,  secretary  of  state.  State  bank  commissioner,  presi- 
dential elector,  count}^  commissioner,  and  finall}^  mayor  of  the  city. 
Springfield  never  had  a  citizen  who  received  so  many  political  favors 
from  her,  and  did  so  little   to  secure  them.     Mr.  Calhoun  had  the 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  381 

quality,  inherited  from  his  Scotch  father,  of  candor  and  discretion. 
He  was  honorable,  self-reliant,  true,  and  religious.  But  he  was 
lacking-  in  the  qualities  that  shine  in  a  court  of  law.  He,  indeed, 
chose  the  profession  that  least  befitted  him ;  but  his  law  education, 
though  meagre  practice,  was  of  value  as  an  equipment  for  public 
life.  He  had  been  but  a  few  years  engaged  in  the  law  when  he  was 
picked  out  b}^  the  local  public  as  a  man  for  representative  in  1825. 
]Mr.  Calhoun  was  an  editorial  writer  on  the  weekly  "  Republican," 
and  in  later  years  he  was  a  contributor  to  the  daily  "  Republican ;  " 
his  success  editorially  was  based  upon  the  importance  and  soundness 
of  his  views,  rather  than  upon  tlie  manner  of  presenting  a  subject. 
''  Calhoun  is  an  erudite  writer,"  31r.  Bowles,  the  second,  used  to  say, 
''  but  he  needs  some  pepper  injected  into  his  veins." 

Of  John  ^Nlills  we  have  already  spoken.  He  was  a  man  of  sin- 
gularly pleasing  address,  and  as  he  grew  in  popularity  and  avoir- 
dupois, his  gracious  and  almost  ducal  bearing,  his  candor  and  old- 
fashioned  methods  of  reasoning,  and  his  scrupulous  uprightness 
minimized  the  effect  of  his  besetting  weakness,  —  a  too  implicit  con- 
fidence in  liumian  nature.  An  old  Springfield  whig  once  remarked  that 
he  happened  to  know  but  one  honest  politician,  and  that  was  John 
Mills. 

A  curious  circumstance  attending  Mr.  Mills's  career  at  Boston  has 
survived  the  visit  of  Lafayette  to  this  country.  Mr.  Mills  was  the 
youngest  member  of  the  Senate.  The  two  houses  were  gathered  to- 
gether at  the  reception  given  General  Lafayette,  and  the  distinguished 
Frenchman  passed  along  shaking  hands  with  every  member.  When 
he  came  to  Mr.  Mills  the  great  visitor  stopped,  glanced  at  the  prema- 
turely bald  head  of  the  precocious  Hampden  county  senator,  and  ex- 
tending both  hands  exclaimed,  "  My  dear  friend,  I  recollect  you  in 
the  Revolution."  This  absurd  scene  suggests  a  remark  of  Patrick 
Boise,  of  Westfield,  a  man  of  parts  and  one  of  the  wits  of  the  old 
Hampden  bar,  that  it  was  John  Mills's  shining  bald  head  that  made 
him  president  of  the  Senate.     Mr.  Mills  was  a  member  of  the  Massa- 


382  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-lSSG. 

chusetts-Counecticut  boundary  commission  of  1<S26,  and  of  the  north- 
eastern boundary  commission  (Maine  and  Canada)  in  1842.  He 
served  as  State  treasurer,  and  was  for  many  years  willing  to  run  on 
the  democratic  State  ticket  when  victory  was  out  of  the  question.  He 
became  thoroughly  identified  with  Springfield  by  real-estate  invest- 
ments, too  much  so  for  his  pecuniary  advantage  ;  but  his  predictions 
as  to  the  growth  of  Springfield  have  been  singularly  fulfilled. 

Judge  Oliver  B.  Morris  holds  a  distinct  place  in  local  annals  as 
lawyer,  citizen,  and  lover  of  Springfield  village.  "  In  ni}^  youth," 
he  used  to  remark,  "  I  saw  an  aged  man  wlio  remembered  seeing  per- 
sons who  came  over  in  the  '  Mayflower.'  "  And  the  judge  was  quite  as 
proud  of  this  as  if  he  had  led  a  victorious  army  to  battle.  He  was 
preemineutl}^  the  village  man.  He  knew  everybody,  and  everybody 
knew  him.  All  the  ways  of  rural  New  England  life  were  pleasing  to 
him ;  he  enjoyed  its  shady  walks,  its  humble  thrift,  its  simple  democ- 
racy, its  deference  paid  to  the  village  fathers,  its  solemn  Sabbaths, 
and  its  old  nine-o'clock  bell.  But  the  satisfaction  he  felt  for  his 
own  local  prominence  was  not  simply  a  personal  pride.  He  came  Ijy 
his  local  patriotism  in  the  study  of  local  history.  He  thought  much 
of  the  past,  and  loved  to  talk  of  the  plantation  of  Springfield,  to  re- 
produce the  pioneer  scenes  when  every  yeoman  was  a  defender  of  the 
gospel,  a  tiller  of  the  soil,  and  at  times  a  fighter  of  Indians.  JNIorris 
never  wanted  to  live  to  see  the  time  when  the  town-meeting  would 
adjourn  forever ;  when  the  stages  would  be  taken  from  the  old  turn- 
pikes, and  the  town  brook  buried  in  the  Main-street  sewer.  But  he 
did,  —  and  he  lived  also  to  be  the  oldest  inhabitant,  and  to  see  city 
wards  spring  up  where  once  were  open  fields.  "- 1  do  not  like  to  see 
so  many  strangers,"  he  once  remarked  to  a  minister  here  ;  ''  I  used  to 
know  every  voter."  This  lament  was  not  the  result  of  a  natural  de- 
sire to  oppose  progress,  but  a  deep  affection  for  the  quiet,  quaint,  old 
days  of  Springfield.  He  had  been  looked  upon  for  nearly  two  gen- 
erations as  the  antiquarian  of  Springfield.  He  was  familiar  with 
more  o'enealoo'ies  than  anv  one  else,  could  give  more  facts  about  old 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6. 


385 


contrast  to  Judge   Morris,    his   brotlier-in-law.     He    was    eager  for 
business    conquests.       His  pride    in  Springfield  led  him  to  take    up 
all  new  ideas  that  would   advance    Springfield's 
commercial  importance.    When  the  incorpora- 
tion of  Hampden  county  is    mentioned,  the 
name  of  George  Bliss,  the  elder,  is  at  once 
in  mind  ;  but  when  the  railroading  era  is  men- 
tioned, one  thinks  of  George  Bliss,  the  younger. 
He  may  not  have  had  the  mastery  of  the  law  that 
Judge  AYells,  of  Chicopee,  had,  nor  the  inspiriting 
and    spontaneous    qualities    of    mind    that    made 
George  Ashmun  a  master  of  oratory,  nor  the  leis- 
urely dignity  of  William  B.  Calhoun  ;  but  he  had 
a  deep  hold  upon  those  principles  of  law  affecting 
the  commerce  of  the  State   and  town,  as  well  as 
an    organizing    and    executive    faculty   that    made 
him  invaluable  in  a    legislative  assembly  or  a  di- 
rectors' meeting.     As  to  his  personal  characteristics 
it  has  been  said:   "There  was  something  dry  about  him  physically 
and  mentally,  and  a   curtness    that    made  him    sometimes  pass   for 
irritable  ;  but  this  was  his  manner  merely." 

"  I  was  not  brought  up,  but  merely  grew  up  neglected,"  Mr.  Bliss 
used  to  say  in  after  life.  After  graduation  he  became  a  member  of  the 
little  law  school  which  his  father  found  time  to  teach ;  and  upon  his 
admission  to  the  bar,  in  1815,  he  opened  an  oflfice  at  Monson,  and  in 
1822  formed  a  law  copartnership  with  Jonathan  Dwight,  Jr.,  the 
legal  member  of  the  famous  firm  of  J.  &  E.  Dwight,  merchants.  Mr. 
Bliss  built  the  fine  residence  now  used  as  the  Episcopal  rectory.  He 
first  appeared  in  the  Legislature  in  1827,  and  upon  his  reelection  in 
1828  he  was  made  chairman  of  the  committee  which  prepared  the  act 
establishing  boards  of  county  commissioners  as  a  substitute  for  the 
town  system.  This  act  was  largely  the  work  of  Mr.  Bliss,  both  in 
phraseology  and  service  in  pushing  it  through  the  Legislature. 


Bliss  Residence. 


386  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


Mr.  Bliss  aided  in  the  support  of  the  Unitarian  church ;  he  gave 
the  site  of  the  city  library,  besides  $10,000  in  cash  ;  and  the  Home  for 
the  Friendless  and  other  local  charities  knew  the  extent  of  his  sub- 
stantial interest.  He  was  president  of  the  Springfield  cemetery, 
member  of  Governor  Briggs's  council,  and  active  in  organizations  like 
the  Hampden  Park  Association ;  and  his  death  at  the  advanced  age 
of  eighty,  full  of  honors  and  surrounded  by  the  material  monuments 
of  his  public  spirit  and  sacrifice,  was  an  event  of  no  passing  moment 
to  this  community. 

This  was  a  period  rich  in  philanthropic  and  public  spirit.  The 
Hampden  County  Colonization  Society  issued  a  circular  in  Novem- 
ber, 1826,  closing  with  these  words  :  "  Our  country  has  been  verily 
guilty  of  despoiling  Africa  of  her  children.  Who  can  say^that  this 
will  not  be  overruled  by  a  righteous  Providence  as  the  principal 
means  of  diffusing  the  knowledge  of  salvation  by  a  crucified  Saviour 
to  millions  of  our  fellow-beings,  who  are  now  buried  in  the  thick 
darkness  of  the  grossest  superstition  and  idolatry?"  This  was 
signed  by  Samuel  Lathrop,  Israel  E.  Trask,  Samuel  Osgood,  William 
B.  O.  Peabody,  Isaac  Knapp,  John  Mills,  Justice  Willard,  Frederick 
A.  Packard,  George  Colton,  and  Ethan  Ely.  In  February,  1827,  at 
a  public  meeting  presided  over  by  O.  B.  Morris,  measures  were  taken 
to  send  provisions  to  the  starving  Greeks.  For  this  cause  Dr. 
Osgood's  church  raised  $150  ;  Mr.  Peabody's,  $90  ;  Mr.  Webb's  (Meth- 
odist), $12.76  ;  Mr.  Branch's  (Baptist),  $12.02;  and  Mr.  Phenix's 
(Chicopee),  $11.50.  The  county  raised  in  all  $672.20,  and  sent  one 
box  of  clothing,  which  postmaster  Daniel  Lombard  forwarded  to  the 
Boston  custodians  of  the  Greek  fund,  which  tunes  the  local  bard  to 
pipe  his  lay  :  — 

"  Alas  for  poor  Greece  1  must  she  drain  her  best  A^eins, 
And  find  but  a  sound  the  reward  of  her  pains  ?  " 

A  little  earlier  (1825),  at  a  meeting  in  the  court-house,  this  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  consider  the  advisability  of  forming  a  negro 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  387 

colonization  society :  Justice  Willard,  Simon  Sanborn,  William  B. 
Calhoun,  Elijah  Blake,  Charles  Stearns,  Samuel  Bowles,  and  George 
Colton. 

The  town  was  now  making  marked  progress  in  numbers  and  gen- 
eral appearance.  The  building  of  churches,  town-hall,  the  opening 
of  the  square  on  Main  street,  and  like  improvements,  had  added  a 
healthy  amlntion  to  the  ancient  community.  In  January,  1826, 
George  Bliss  and  one  hundred  and  eleven  others  petitioned  that  the 
village  proper  be  incorporated  into  a  police  and  fire  district,  that  the 
meadow  might  be  drained,  the  brook  regulated,  and  streets  widened. 
There  was  a  natural  curiosity  to  know  exactly  the  local  population,  and 
some  public-spirited  men  put  their  hands  in  their  pockets,  counted 
noses,  and  in  1827  reported  these  results:  Over  30,  males,  791; 
females,  803.  Over  16,  males,  826;  females,  983.  Over  10, 
males,  357 ;  females,  410.  Under  10,  males,  707 ;  females,  827. 
Total,  5,764. 

The  population  of  the  village  in  1820  was  3,914,  showing  that  the 
tide  of  prosperity  had  indeed  begun.  Northampton  in  1827  had  a 
population  of  3,840,  and  West  Springfield  had  also  fallen  behind  the 
central  village.  The  rivalry  between  the  local  communities  con- 
tinued, but  the  chances  were  now  clearly  in  favor  of  the  mother 
town.     Hampden  county  in  1825  had  3,425  houses. 

The  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  of  Springfield,  gave  their  first  pub- 
lic concert  Sunday  evening,  June  17,  1827.  In  October,  1824,  the 
newly  organized  Hampden  Guards  received  from  the  citizens  "an 
elegant  standard,"  Lieutenant-Colonel  Colton  making  the  presentation 
speech. 

The  Fourth  of  July  celebration  of  the  first  half -century  of  the  re- 
public warmed  the  local  heart.  The  celebration  was  planned  at  a 
meeting  of  men  of  "  all  parties,  religious  or  political,"  and  under 
the  special  direction  of  this  committee  of  citizens:  Col.  Roswell 
Lee,  Israel  E.  Trask,  John  Chaffee,  Samuel  Lathrop,  Joshua  Frost, 
Calvin  Burt,  Benjamin  Jenks,   Col.  Solomon  Warriner,  Dr.  Reuben 


388  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6. 

Champion,  of  West  Springfield,  Adonajiah  Foot,  Joseph  Hall,  Jr., 
Justin  AVillard,  John  Howard,  Alpheus  Nettleton,  and  Maj.  E. 
Edwards.  The  Hampden  Guards,  commanded  l\y  Captain  Nettleton, 
marched  from  the  Hampden  coffee-house  to  Dr.  Osgood's  church, 
where  William  B.  Calhoun  delivered  an  oration.  Dr.  George  Frost 
read  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  Colonel  Warriner,  with  the 
aid  of  a  large  chorus,  sang  an  ode  written  by  Rev.  Mr.  Peabody. 
From  the  meeting-house  the  guards,  with  Col.  Harvey  Cliapin,  Maj. 
Caleb  Rice,  and  Lieut.  Samuel  Reynolds,  mounted,  marched  with  a 
great  crowd  and  band  music,  firing  of  cannon  and  ringing  of  bells, 
to  the  new  armory  store-house  on  State  street,  opposite  the  Olivet 
church,  where  a  banquet  for  four  hundred  was  spread.  Samuel 
Lathrop  and  Colonel  Lee  offered  the  toasts,  and  the  speaking  con- 
tinued until  dusk. 

In  November,  182G,  a  banquet  was  given  at  the  Franklin  hotel  in 
honor  of  Col.  Roswell  Lee,  who  was  transferred  to  Harper's  Ferr}^, 
Paymaster  John  Chaffee  presiding.  Another  dinner  was  given  at 
Phelps's  hotel,  J.  Dwight,  Jr.,  at  the  head  of  the  table.  The  P^ourth 
of  July  celebration  of  1827  was  denounced  by  a  writer  in  the 
"  Hampden  Journal  "  as  an  "  anti-administration  celebration  ;  "  but 
there  was  no  foundation  for  it  beyond  some  hissing  at  a  Jackson 
toast.  This  was  considered  a  hit  at  Colonel  Lee,  who  had  returned 
from  Virginia  to  the  armory. 

In  January,  1825,  a  committee  of  the  Connecticut  River  Associa- 
tion addressed  circulars  to  all  towns  interested  in  river  manufacture 
to  meet  at  Windsor,  Vt.,  February  16.  It  was  proposed  to  open  the 
river  traffic  to  Lake  Memphremagog.  National  aid  was  expected  in 
continuing  trade  communication  with  Canada.  A  shipment  of  lumber, 
which  had  to  be  carted  forty  miles  to  the  Erie  canal,  thence  carried 
two  hundred  miles  to  Troy,  by  sloop  down  the  Hudson  to  the  Sound, 
up  the  Connecticut  to  Hartford,  and  then  transferred  to  furniture  man- 
ufactories, troubled  the  visions  of  the  local  students  of  commerce. 
The  project  of  connecting  the  river  at  Bellows  Falls  with  Boston  by 


SPRINGFIELD,    16S6-1886.  389 

a  caiuil  WHS  also  talked  of,  but  engineers  preferred  to  strike  the  river 
at  Springtield.  The  Windsor  convention  memorialized  Congress  and 
took  steps  to  form  a  navigation  company.  A  largely  attended  meet- 
ing of  the  citizens  was  held  at  the  Hampden  coffee-house,  May,  1825, 
to  consider  canals  and  river  traffic.  Tt  was  resolved  tliat  a  Boston 
and  Springfield  canal  was  practicable  and  desirable,  and  that  the 
river  could  be  improved  so  as  to  admit  sloops  to  Springfield.  George 
Bliss  was  in  the  chair  and  Justice  Willard  was  secretary.  Delegates 
were  cliosen  to  attend  a  meeting  at  Brookfield.  Mr.  Willard  was 
present  at  Greenfield  in  April,  where  a  Franklin  county  convention 
passed  resolutions  favoring  Connecticut  river  improvements  :  and  a 
few  weeks  later  a  convention  of  the  three  counties  at  Greenfield  took 
similar  action,  George  Bliss  heading  a  committee  to  memorialize  the 
General  Court  on  the  subject. 

Says  a  writer  in  the  Boston  "  Patriot,"  May,  1825  :  "A  canal  from 
Springfield  to  Boston  will  render  our  harbor  the  mouth  of  the  Con- 
necticut river."  The  papers  of  the  State  were  filled  with  arguments 
pro  and  con,  and  every  step  of  the  engineers  commissioned  to  survey 
the  Connecticut  and  a  canal  route  across  the  State  was  followed  with 
lively  niterest.  Stages  were  rolling  along  regardless  of  the  new- 
fangled notions  of  transportation.  In  182(3  H.  Sargeant  advertised  a 
new  line  of  stages,  which  left  Springfield  daily  at  5  A.M.  for  Hart- 
ford, taking  the  west  side,  and  returning  at  7  P.M.,  for  $1.  This 
line  stopped  at  Phelps's  Springfield  hotel  (P^xchange  hotel).  The 
following  year  there  was  started  a  stage  line  from  Springfield  to 
Belchertown,  by  the  Factory  village, —  N.  B.  Moseley  &  Co.,  pro- 
prietors. In  1828  still  another  line  was  started  between  Norwich  and 
Springfield,  the  distance  between  the  two  places  being  covered  in 
eleven  hours.  The  proprietors  were  N.  B.  Moseley,  of  Springfield, 
and  Landlords  Kinney  of  Norwich,  Abbe  of  Windham,  and  Smith 
of  Tolland. 

The  local  industries  were  making  a  fair  showing.  The  paper  mills 
of  D.  &  J.  Ames  were,  in  1825,  about  the  largest  in  the  United  States. 


390  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1S86. 

They  ran  twelve  eno:ines  and  em])lo3"ed  one  hundred  girls,  besides  man}^ 
men  and  bo3^s.  Lathrop  &  Willard  had  just  before  this  built  a  four- 
engine  paper-mill,  "  10  miles  above  this  place."  N.  P.  Ames  began 
the  manufacture  of  cutler}^  at  Chicopee,  with  nine  hands,  in  1829. 
The  Ames  Manufacturing  C'ompau}^  was  incorporated  in  1834,  with  a 
capital  of  $30,000. 

Mr.  Blanchard's  steam-carriage  was  exhibited  in  these  streets  in 
November,  1826,  and  created  the  greatest  excitement.  A  bevel- 
geared  wheel,  running  parallel  with  the  carriage  wheels,  Avas  attached 
to  the  hind  axle-tree.  Pinion  wdieels  plied  into  the  cogs  of  this  wheel, 
and  the  engine  attached  had  a  two-inch  cylinder,  the  boiler  holding 
three  gallons.     The  carriage  weighed  half  a  ton. 

Man}'  business  changes  had  taken  place  on  the  street.  Horace 
Lee,  who  came  from  Westfield,  was  running  a  chair-factory  in  a  brick 
building  on  the  east  side  of  North  IMain  street,  and  had  a  rival  in 
Moses  V.  Beacli,  \vho  ran  the  Springfield  cabinet  warehouse,  now 
Wright's  cigar-shop ;  AYilliam  W.  Wildman's  Springfield  comb 
factor}'  was  opposite  the  Springfield  hotel ;  Whitfield  Chapin  kept  a 
lumber-yard  at  the  east  end  of  the  bridge  over  the  Connecticut,  which 
passed,  in  1826,  to  Isaac  Humeston ;  Joseph  Bangs  had  a  forge  on 
Mill  river  ;  Benjamin  Belcher  presided  over  the  Springfield  furnace  ; 
Dennis  Cook  ran  a  copper  and  sheet-iron  manufactor}^,  and  so  did 
Philip  Wilcox,  the  two  men  having  originally  been  in  business 
together  (Cook  &  Wilcox)  in  front  of  the  Springfield  brewer}^ 
(Church  of  the  Unity)  ;  George  Golton  sold  lime,  hewn  stone,  and 
lumber ;  Isaiah  Call  kept  stoves  (near  the  bank)  ;  John  Hooker,  Jr., 
was  manager  of  the  Springfield  brewery ;  William  Childs  &  Co.,  who 
were  known  to  store  liquors  in  the  cellar  of  the  present  Congregational 
church,  owned  the  Sixteen  Acres  distillery,  and  Reynolds  &  ]Morris 
were  managers  of  the  Hampden  brewery.  Major  Ingersoll  was 
their  clerk.  The  marble  yard  of  S.  D.  &  W.  Sturges  was  one  door 
west  of  the  bank.  The  Springfield  Fire  Insurance  Company,  George 
Bliss,  Jr.,  secretary,  was  doing  a  good  business. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  391 


Dauiel  Lombard  was  still  postmaster.  The  bookstores  included 
G.  W.  Calender  (opposite  Court  square),  Robert  Russell  and  T. 
Dickman  (opposite  Springfield  p:xchange  hotel).  E.  Edwards  and 
Sterns  &  Hunt  were  druggists  ;  and  the  prominent  dry-goods  mer- 
chants were  John  W.  Dwdght  (successor  of  D wight  &  Colton) ,  Bangs, 
Stikes,  &  Co.,  D.  C.  Brewer,  Howard  &  Lathrop,  Bliss  &  Morris, 
Bontecou  &  Hunt,  Ames  &  Reynolds,  Solomon  Warriner  &  Son, 
James  Brewer,  Gilbert  A.  Smith,  and  T.  A.  Merrick.  H.  Brewer 
sold  fish,  cheese,  etc.  ;  Henry  Adams  w^as  watchmaker  ;  Rand,  Bates, 
&  Co.,  curriers  ;  Blake  &  Kendall  (opposite  Court  square),  boots  and 
shoes;  E„  Stockbridge,  merchant  tailor;  Lewis  Briggs,  groceries; 
and  James  Mills,  fancy  goods  and  millinery ;  while  Luther  Grant 
advertised  :  — 

"  Shorrevals  and  Over'alls 
And  Pantaloons  he'll  make. 
Cutting  too  he'll  always  do 
And  will  no  cabbage  take." 

Carlo  Smith  kept  a  glazing  establishment  in  the  rear  of  the  bank, 
and  Festus  Smith  ran  a  blacksmith  shop.  Reference  is  made  still  to 
the  "  Plainfield  Gate,"  noith  of  Col.  Quartus  Stebbins's  house. 

Business  changes  w^ere  of  course  made  from  time  to  time,  but 
about  the  close  of  the  period  covered  by  this  chapter  Spencer  &  Orne 
had  a  crockery  store  north  of  the  Dwight  store.  Then  came  Elisha 
Edwards,  druggist  and  grocery  ;  Edmund  Rowland,  dry  goods  ;  Capt. 
TomSargeant,  jeweller  ;  H.  Y.  Beach,  furniture  ;  Reynolds  &  Morris, 
dry  goods  ;  Dr.  Brewer,  druggist,  in  the  dark  basement  of  which  was 
Henry  Brewer's  little  grocery ;  "Springfield  Republican,"  north 
corner  of  Main  and  Sanford  streets  ;  Daniel  Bontecou,  with  ElUot's 
barber  shop  in  the  rear ;  Elijah  Blake,  shoemaker ;  Sterns  &  Spar- 
hawk,  druggists;  Seth  Flagg,  jeweller,  and  William  Calender,  book- 
store ;  James  Wells,  dry  goods,  boots  and  shoes  (Metcalf  &  Luther)  ; 
Mr.  Tucker,  groceries  and  bottled  beer ;  Josiah  Howx,  with  black- 


392 


SPRINGFIELD,    2  636-1 SS  6. 


smith  shop  in  the  rear ;  Roswell  Lombard,  farmer  (Brigham's)  ; 
Coolidge  &  Sanderson,  hatters ;  Mr.  Baker's  shop ;  Mr.  Elliot's  red 
dwelling-house  (north  corner  of  Bridge  and  Main  streets)  ;  Emery's 
lane  (Lyman  street),  leading  to  the  large  Emery  pasture,  where  half 
the  cows  of  the  village  were  pastured ;  Jerry  Whalen's  house  (north 


SuRXiNG  U.  S.  Armory,  1S24. 


corner  of  Main  and  Ferry  streets)  ;  and  Amasa  Parsons  (Franklin 
street).  Other  places  can  be  identified  by  the  map  accompanying 
this  volume. 

On  Armory  hill  Tileston  tavern  was  a  resort  of  note.  The  hill 
merchants  included  Bangs  &  Ely,  Flagg  &  Chapin  (military  store), 
Avery  &  Stoddard,  Bowdoin  &  Carew,  and  John  Hall.  Rand  & 
Shepard  was  the  Armory  hill  boot  firm   (Smith's  building) .     Albert 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  393 


Morgan  kept  a  grocery  and  dry-goods  store,  and  Baker  &  Holbrook 
owned  the  Hampden  fnrniture  establishment  in  the  Carew  building. 
The  main  armory  l)uilding  was  burned  in  March,  1824,  and  during 
the  summer  three  fire-proof  buildings  were  put  up, —two  workshops 
and  a  store-house,  each  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  long.  The  two 
hundred  and  sixty  men  employed  turned  out  forty  muskets  per  day. 

At  Chicopee,  Chapin  &  Bemis  were  the  leading  merchants.  The 
cotton  factories  on  the  Chicopee  river  belonging  to  the  Boston  & 
Springfield  Manufacturing  Company  were  begun  about  1823.  In 
1826  there  were  two  brick  five-story  factories,  with  seven  thousand 
spindles  and  two  hundred  and  forty  looms,  and  there  were  about 
twenty  tenement  houses  for  operatives  with  accommodations  for  fifty- 
four  families. 

On  March  4,  1825,  the  inauguration  of  John  Quincy  Adams  was 
observed  by  a  political  dinner  at  the  Hampden  coffee-house,  the  report 
being  of  a  "  style  which  does  credit  to  Colonel  Russell."  Colonel  Lee 
presided,  and  J.  Dwight,  Jr.,  was  chosen  vice-president.  There  was 
some  political  rancor  in  the  speeches,  but  patriotism  prevailed.  John 
Mills  and  Justice  WHlard  were  elected  State  senators  in  April,  the  latter 
only  after  a  contest  before  the  Legislature  with  Jonathan  Dwight,  Jr. 
The  representatives  in  1826  were  George  Bliss,  Jonathan  Dwight,  Jr., 
William  B.  Calhoun,  William  H.  Foster,  and  Jesse  Pendleton. 

In  1826,  when  Solomon  Hatch  was  nominated  for  register  of  deeds, 
an  ardent  republican  closed  a  long  appeal  in  support  of  Hatch  by 
remarking  that  Hatch  is  "  not  less  honest  nor  less  capable  than  the 
present /am%  incumbent,  who  has,  as  yet,  Uttle  reason  to  know  that 
he  does  not  hold  the  office  as  an  heirloom  from  his  ancestors,  but  as 
the  free  gift  of  a  free  people."  This  was  a  signal  for  a  spirited  charge 
upon  Edward  Pynchon,  who  had  been  register  since  the  formation  of 
the  county,  in  1812.  The  discussion  was  narrowed  from  the  principle 
of  rotation  in  office  to  the  business  habits  of  both  estimable  gentlemen, 
and  sundry  irregularities  in  land  transactions  were  charged  and  denied 
in  rapid  succession.     Pynchon  was  reelected  by  a  large  majority. 


394 


SPRINGFIELD,    263G-18S6. 


Senator  John  Mills  introduced  a  bill  for  the  relief  of  poor  debtors, 
at  Boston,  in  1826,  the  object  of  which  was  to  abolish  imprisonment 
for  debt,  and  it  passed  that  body  almost  unanimously.  Justice  AVill- 
ard's  action  in  opposing  his  colleague  created  some  talk.  Mr.  ]Mills 
was  a  candidate  against  Webster,  in  1827,  for  the  United  States 
Senate.  It  was  when  Mills  was  president  of  the  State  Senate,  in 
1828,  that  he  created  some  local  contention  by  coming  out  for  Jack- 
son, and  declined  being  a  candidate  for  reelection.  William  B. 
Calhoun  also  created  local  heart-burnings  by  opposing  a  resolution 
in  favor  of  the  Adams  administration.  3Ir.  Calhoun  had  been  elected 
twice  to  the  House  without  opposition,  and,  at  that  time,  at  least,  was 
not  considered  a  party  man.  He  was  returned  to  the  Legislature  in 
1828,  and  became  speaker.  The  full  list  of  Springfield  representa- 
tives were :  A\^illiam  B.  Calhoun,  Fred  A.  Packard,  Jesse  Pendleton, 
William  H.  Foster,  Simon  Sanborn,  George  Bliss,  Jr.,  and  William 
Childs. 

j^.  The  poor-house,  which  was  built  in  1802,  was  situated  on  the  west 
'  side  of  North  Main  street,  between  Auburn  and  Seventh  streets,  on 
the  site  of  the  present  wooden  building  adjoining  the  brick  residence 
of  Miss  Angeline  Stebbins.  Up  to  1824  the  inmates  had  numbered 
one  hundred  and  fifty  males  and  sixty-five  females,  besides  a  number 
of  children  ;  deaths,  thirty  ;  total  expenses,  $14,120.  The  first  over- 
seers of  the  Main-street  poor-house  were  Zebina  Stebbins,  William 
Smith,  John  Hooker,  William  Ely,  and  Calvin  Stebbins.  The  board 
organized  in  IMay,  1802.  with  Mr.  Hooker,  clerk. 

In  August  Calvin  Stebbins  was  made  master  of  the  work-house. 
He  promulgated  a  rule  that  no  inmate  should  have  any  rum  or  ardent 
spirits  not  furnished  by  him,  on  pain  of  being  put  in  the  stocks,  not 
exceeding  three  hours  at  a  time.  We  put  the  account  of  the  poor  and 
work-house  in  this  chapter  in  order  to  give  point  to  the  action  of  the 
town-meeting  in  1823,  when  a  committee  was  appointed  to  consider 
the  condition  of  the  poor.  This  committee  deplored  the  fact  that 
the  inmates  were  given  so  small  an  allowance  of  liquor.     The  com- 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6.  395 


niittee  also  lamented  the  clecadence  of  the  original  idea  of  the  poor- 
honse,  which  shonld  also  be  a  work-house.  This  matter  was  agitated 
again  the  year  following,  Robert  P^mery  and  George  Bliss  drawing  \\\> 
an  exhaustive  report.  The  town,  and  particularly  the  selectmen, 
were  taken  to  task  for  allowing  pauperism  to  spread.  They  went  into 
history,  showed  that  the  original  New  England  idea  was  that  the 
town  should  maintain  public  worship,  schools,  highways,  and  the 
poor,  etc.  ;  but  then  (1824)  churches  were  taking  care  of  themselves  ; 
the  law  obliging  the  rich  to  pay  for  the  poor  was  continually  attacked, 
tolls  had  been  substituted  for  highway  taxes,  while  "  the  poor  are  to 
be  thrown  not  upon  those  who  are  able,  but  upon  those  Avho  are  will- 
ing to  maintain  them."  To  which  a  town  committee  responded  ]jy 
giving  the  historical  fact  that  "  our  ancestors  came  to  this  country  a 
very  short  time  after  the  P^ngiish  poor  rule  system  was  adopted  and 
after  there  had  been  full  trial  of  the  system  of  begging  in  England 
both  before  and  after  Popery  was  abolished  and  Monasteries  sup- 
pressed." 

In  1825  the  schools  were  also  thoroughly  looked  into.  Total 
number  between  the  age  of  four  and  sixteen  was  one  thousand  three 
hundred  and  six.  It  was  found  that  some  schools  had  been  closed 
for  want  of  funds,  and  some  partly  supported  by  private  subscriptions. 
'^Noue  of  the  schools,"  so  runs  the  report,  "have  kept  pace  with 
the  improvements  and  advancements  in  the  science  of  instruction." 
:Mention  is  made  of  the  "inductive  system,"  whose  "  Hght  has 
been  but  faintly  shed  upon  the  free  schools  of  Springfield."  A  school 
committee  was  at  once  appointed,  headed  by  Mr.  Calhoun,  and 
including  the  clergymen  of    the  town. 

AVe  add  the  selectmen  for  several  years,  for  convenient  reference  : 
Selectmen  for  1822,  Jesse  Pendleton,  Solomon  Hatch,  AVilliam  Childs, 
Joseph  Carew,  and  Simon  Sanborn ;  1823,  John  Hooker,  Robert 
Emery,  Israel  E.  Trask,  Jonathan  Dwight,  Jr.,  and  Joseph  Pease; 
1824,  Jesse  Pendleton,  Solomon  Hatch,  AVdliam  Rice,  George  Colton, 
and  Allen  Bangs  ;   1825,   Solomon  Hatch,   George  Colton,  AVilliam 


39^  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


Rice,  Alien  Bangs,  au^  Ri-idgman  Chapin ;  1826,  William  Rice, 
Joslnia  Frost,  Bridgman  Chapin,  Harvey  Chapin,  and  Solomon  Hatch' 
We  make  a  period  at  1831,  for  during  that  year  the  old  Pynchon 
manor-house  on  Main  street  was  i)ulled  down,  by  what  ill-advice  we 
know  not.  It  had  figured  in  history  and  fiction,  was  indeed  so  an- 
cient that  the  local  newspaper  notices  occasioned  by  its  demolition 
were  not  accurate.  Fiction  first  borrowed  from  history,  and  then  his- 
tory from  fiction.  By  August  the  building  was  pretty  well  de- 
molished. Men  stood  mournfully  about  the  ancient  site  where  Will- 
iam Pynchon  had  built  his  modest  house,  and  John  Pynchon  thi& 
palace  fort,  and  vainly  protested  against  its  removal. 

In  philanthropic  and  literary  matters  the  aggressive  spirit  was  pro- 
nounced. The  Springfield  lyceum  was  in  its  glory.  Debates  and 
lectures  followed  in  rapid  succession.  The  soft-tongued  Peabody, 
the  learned  and  serious  Calhoun,  the  prismatic  and  popular  George 
Ashmun,  the  painstaking  and  candid  Willard,  in  turn  addressed  the 
lyceum ;  and  among  other  lecturers  were  William  C.  Dwight,  Thom,^ 
Dwight,  Lieutenant  Tyler,  Dr.  L.  W.  Belden,  Rev.  BTl^utnamS 
Samuel  Bowles,  William  Bliss,  3d,  and  J.  B.  Eldridge.  '-^' 

The  society  for  the  promotion  of  temperance  had  made  substantial 
advances.  It  had  been  an  ancient  custom  to  have  beer  on  the  table. 
In  the  early  part  of  this  century  beer  had  given  place  to  hard  liquors^ 
The  society  had  already  induced  many  to  remove  the  spirits  from  the 
table.  Even  at  gatherings  of  militia  and  other  organizations  less 
liquor  was  drunk.  This  meant  much  for  Springfield.  Parson  How- 
ard was  president  of  the  society  in  1828,  and  at  the  meeting  m  Mr. 
Peabody's  church  in  September  John  Hooker  was  chosen  vice-presi- 
dent and  AYilliam  B.  Calhoun  corresponding  secretary.  George  Ban- 
croft was  present,  and  standing  upon  a  chair  made  a  ringing  tem- 
perance speech.  The  sale  of  spirituous  liquors  in  Springfield  had 
decreased  one-half  since  the  previous  year,  and  the  society  was  en- 
couraged to  continue  its  noble  work. 

The  Springfield  debating  society   was  at  this  time   in  full  blast. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18SG.  397 


Specimen  question:  "Are  well-regulfited  theatres  injnrions  to  liu- 
manity?"  Probably  not  five  per  cent,  of  the  debaters  bad  ever  been 
inside  of  a  theatre.  In  August,  1829,  came  the  first  annual  examina- 
tion of  the  Springfield  High  School :  average  age  of  the  boys,  twelve  ; 
number,  fifty  ;  special  efliciency  in  algebra,  natural  i^hilosophy,  and 
mental  arithmetic,  reflecting  the  commercial  trend  of  the  day.  The 
infant  school,  in  the  centre  of  the  town,  numbered  sixty.  One  was 
started  also  near  Ames's  mills.  It  was  in  1829  when  Miss  Hawkes 
opened  a  young  women's  seminary  here  with  eighty  and  more  pupils. 

The  triumph  of  the  Jackson  party  in  national  politics  intensified 
the  feeling  locally  for  some  time,  even  to  the  invasion  of  patriotic 
events.  March  4,  1829,  w^as  a  famous  day  in  Springfield.  The  im- 
agination of  the  man  of  battlefields  challenging  conflicting  feelings. 
Cannon  was  thundering  at  daybreak  on  Armory  hill  and  again  at 
noon,  and  a  few  hours  later  artillery  was  drawn  into  Court  square, 
where  Jackson  powder  w\as  burned  for  a  long  time.  Meantime  one 
of  the  new  public  storehouses  was  transformed  into  a  banquet-room, 
and  fully  two  hundred  and  fifty  gathered  about  the  board,  delegates 
coming  in  from  neighboring  towns.  Before  the  banquet  Samuel 
Johnson,  of  Chester,  delivered  an  oration.  The  banquet-room  was 
elaborately  decorated.  Colonel  Lee  sat  at  the  head  of  the  table,  and 
John  Chaffee  assisted  at  the  bottom  as  vice-president.  We  have  no 
such  days  now.  In  the  evening  the  hall  of  the  Hampden  coffee- 
house, "  where  so  much  good  living  and  fine  dancing  has  been  seen," 
was  taken  possession  of  by  the  John  Quincy  Adams  men.  They 
were  cheered  by  a  band  of  music  and  a  good  supper,  and,  "  willing  to 
hope  for  the  best,  were  rather  disposed  to  be  merry  than  sad." 

Fourth  of  July  was  made  the  occasion  of  another  display  of 
patriotism  decked  with  the  robes  of  party  ;  a  banquet  was  served  at 
the  armory,  and  a  young  man  stationed  on  the  field  of  ordnance  yard 
swung  a  flag  when  each  speaker  sat  down,  which  was  the  signal  for  a 
volley  of  cannon. 

The  removal  of  Postmaster  Lombard  was  the  first  realizing  evi- 


398  SPRIXGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


deuce  that  there  was  a  new  Presideut.  Lombard's  successor  was 
Albert  Morgan.  A  protest,  signed  by  a  majority  of  the  business  men 
of  the  town,  was  forwarded  to  Washington  ;  but  it  Avas  useless.  It 
was  the  day  of  Jacksonianism,  with  all  that  implies.  November, 
1829,  Charles  Howard  was  appointed  paymaster  and  military  store- 
keeper at  the  armory,  vice  John  Chaffee,  which  caused  the  anti- 
administrationists  again  to  cast  reflections  ni)on  the  ''  new  scheme  of 
rewards  and  punishments."  Major  Howard  was  said  to  have  been,  in 
1823,  one  of  the  only  three  Jackson  men  in  the  county. 

In  1829  William  B.  Calhoun  was  unanimously  elected  speaker  of 
the  House  of  Representatives,  at  Boston,  the  first  time  in  its  history, 
which  caused  the  "  Boston  Courier  "  to  remark  that  the  Connecticut 
valley  "  may  feel  proud  of  its  present  distinction."  Samuel  Lathrop, 
of  AYest  Springfield,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  at  this  time  president 
of  the  Senate. 

The  Fourth  of  July  of  1830  was  celebrated  by  the  colonization 
societ}^  of  the  local  branch,  of  which  Samuel  Bowles  was  secretary, 
by  special  contributions  taken  in  the  churches,  the  Fourth  falling  on 
Sunday.  On  Monday  there  was  the  usual  celebration  on  the  hill, 
managed  by  the  Jacksonians,  while  the  Hampden  Guards  paraded 
with  Henry  Clay  banners,  and  dined  at  the  Springfield  hotel.  Some 
enterprising  women  of  the  town  organized  a  patriotic  tea-party  the 
day  following  at  Worthington  grove,  east  of  the  AVorthington  house. 
The  Springfield  artillery  were  encamped  there  under  Captain  Dwight ; 
a  liberty-pole  had  been  put  up  and  hung  with  evergreens,  and  sup- 
porting astral  lamps  properl}^  decorated.  The  tea  was  followed  by 
music,  dancing,  and  a  gay  time  generally,  participated  in  by  over  a 
thousand  people. 

Masonry  and   politics  were  becoming  wofully  mixed.     The  anti- 

W      masonic  party  had  put  up  Samuel   Lathrop,  of  West  Springfield,  as 

candidate  for  governor  against   Levi  Lincoln.     Indignant  ''  national 

republicans "  of   the  county  met  at  Springfield  November   1,    1831, 

Festus  Foster,  of  Brimfield,  in  the  chair,  and   Samuel  Bowles  secre- 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-2S86.  399 

tary.  They  demanded  that  Mr.  Lathrop  should  siibiiut  his  letter  to 
the  anti-masonic  convention,  Jonathan  Dwight,  George  Ashmiin,  and 
Simon  Sanborn  being  appointed  a  committee  for  that  purpose.  Mr. 
Lathrop  replied  that  he  would  produce  the  letter,  provided  he  was  in- 
formed of  the  action  of  the  meeting.  Nothing  came  of  this  cor- 
respondence, and  the  committee  printed  a  statement  that  Mr.  Lathrop 
had  shown  his  letter  of  acceptance  of  the  anti-masonic  nomination  to 
Oliver  B.  Morris,  R.  A.  Chapman,  and  others  before  it  was  sent. 
Lathrop  in  his  letter  had  spoken  highly  of  Governor  Lincoln,  and  had 
disapproved  of  the  nomination  of  Wirt,  for  President, \s  an  anti- 
mason,  and  called  himself  a  friend  of  Henry  Clay.  Lathrop  had 
finally  concluded  to  break  from  the  whigs. 

Two  new  actors  had  appeared  upon  the  local  stage,  —  George 
Ashmun  and  Reuben  Atwater  Chapman.  These  two  young  men 
drifted  to  Springfield  from  Blandford,  and  formed  the  law  firm  of 
Chapman  &  Ashmun.  One  rose  to  be  chief-justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  while  the  other  was  invited  b}^  his  fellow-citizens  into  the  field 
of  politics,  and  figured  honorably  and  brilliantly  in  national  affairs. 

The  old  English  rules  of  common-law  pleading  had  a  partial  hold 
of  the  State  courts  at  that  time,  and  it  was  the  custom  for  young 
law3^ers  to  associate  older  members  of  the  bar  with  them  as  counsel. 
But  the  young  firm  introduced  an  innovation  that  was,  at  once,  pro- 
nounced glaringly  impertinent.  Judge  Chapman,  in  his  later  days, 
often  reverted  to  the  storm  of  resentment  that  both  were  compelled 
to  meet.  Judges  frowned  upon  the  young  men,  giants  of  the  law 
were  covered  with  sardonic  smiles  or  frigid  glances,  and  even  their 
patron,  District  Attorney  Wells,  of  Greenfield,  revealed  his  an- 
noyance. Ashmun  was  quick,  facile,  and  witty,  while  Chapman  was 
^'sarcastic  and  tremendously  sauc}^,"  to  use  the  words  of  an  aged 
resident  who  remembers  the  dramatic  entree  of  this  firm  upon  its  nota- 
ble career.  Those  were  days  when  it  was  not  considered  out  of 
place  to  call  out  the  heavy  ordnance  over  very  insignificant  causes. 
''  A  jackal !  "  cried  Chapman,  in  reference  to  a  man  who  was  pursu- 


400  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

ing  Ms  client,  as  he  thought,  too  closely.  '' A  defender  of  jackals," 
he  added  in  low-voiced  severity,  glancing  at  Mr.  AVells.  The  Green- 
field attorney  rose,  white  w^ith  indignant  emotion.  He  pictured  the 
birth  of  the  child  Reuben  Chapman  on  the  shores  of  Eussell  pond, 
his  farm-work,  his  weighing  sugar  in  a  country  store,  and,  finally,  the 
kindly  aid  extended  him  by  the  speaker.  "  And  this  is  the  return  for 
my  kind  ofliices  !  "  Young  Mr.  Chapman  looked  very  sober,  but  the 
figure  of  the  jackal  would  not  dow^n,  and  the  prosecuting  attorney 
made  no  headway  against  the  burglar  whom  Chapman  was  defending. 

Mr.  Chapman  might  be  called  a  wheel-horse  to  the  legal  car 
rather  than  a  brightly  caparisoned  leader.  His  days  were  spent  in 
laborious  application.  He  w^as  learned,  courtly,  kind,  set ;  his  pleas 
were  models  of  brevit}",  but  disclose  no  imaginative  and  birt  slio-ht 
forensic  quality.  He  contributed  little  to  the  amusement  of  the  bar, 
but  much  to  its  form  of  legal  practice.  Mr.  Chapman  seemed  bred 
and  trained  for  the  express  purpose  of  contributing  to  the  great  task 
of  sweeping  away  the  mass  of  technicalities  involved  in  ci^il  practice. 
Before  he  could  become  a  maker  of  statutes  of  this  Commonwealth, 
however,  he  was  compelled  to  climb  into  notice,  both  giving  and 
taking  hard  blows. 

The  Hampden  bar  needed  neither  color  nor  incident  fifty  years  and 
more  ago  ;  but  it  did  need  new  blood,  and  this  it  got  in  good  measure 
with  the  law  firm  of  Chapman  &  Ashmun.  These  men  were  in  a  Avay 
complements  of  each  other.  Chapman  was  a  man  of  books  ;  Ashmun 
was  a  man  of  action.  Political  honors  knocked  at  Mr.  Ashmun's 
door,  and  it  w^as  within  his  grasp  to  play  a  national  part.  He  did  to 
a  certain  extent,  but  the  creditable  lack  of  a  desire  for  personal  pre- 
ferment prevented  that  cohesion  of  political  action  and  ambition 
which  is  an  element  in  conspicuous   careers. 

Springfield  never  made  to  the  great  public  the  gift  of  a  character 
about  which  is  associated  more  good-humor,  genial  humanit3%  brighter 
morality,  or  more  dignified  eloquence  than  that  of  George  Ashmun. 
The  lover  of  old  times  delights  to  this  day  to  tell  how  he  would  drop 


-^,  aJ^ 


^1-^ -^-^/^'1^.-^n_^ 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


403 


standard  "  from  the  citizens.  Colonel  Nettleton  made  the  presenta- 
tion speech,  and  Ensign  Spencer  responded.  The  following  year, 
Lieut.  Erastus  M.  Bates  was  elected  captain  of  the  Hampden  Guards, 


y!i^     ^^^fe>  •*.%,- 


Archway  to  the  Springfield  Cemetery. 


vice  Capt.  Solomon  Wamner,  Jr.,  resigned.  Captain  AVarriuer's  last 
military  act  was  to  carry  the  standard  to  Pittsfield,  where  the  Grej's 
received  them  in  their  best  style.  Their  appearance  was  applauded 
upon  all  sides,  and  a  sarcastic  remark  in  a  Northampton  paper  about 
the  Guards  shows  that  the  green -e3Td  monster  knew  a  good  thing 
when  he  saw  it. 

But  what  of  the  condition  of  the  town  in  these   days?     Let  the 


404  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6. 

following  table,  gathered  from  the  records  for  1831,  speak: 
Population  (about),  6,700;  dwelling-houses,  722;  stores,  ware- 
houses, and  shops  118;  barns,  580;  cotton  factories  (370  looms), 
3  ;  bleachery,  1  ;  paper-mills,  3  ;  printing-offices,  5  ;  grist-mills,  5  ; 
saw-mills,  7  ;  card  factories,  2  ;  carding-machine,  1  ;  fulling-mill,  1  ; 
breweries,  2;  distilleries,  2;  tan-houses,  3 ;  tillage  lands  (acres), 
5,301;  meadow,  1,807;  horses,  389;  oxen,  321;  cows,  474;  steers 
and  heifers,  237  ;  sheep,  954  ;  newspapers,  4.  Armory  property  is 
not  here  enumerated.  The  town  had  increased  in  population  2,870 
between  1820  and  1830,  when  the  figures  were  6,784.  The  popula- 
tion of  the  county  in  1829  was  33,000.  Much  attention  was  now 
paid  to  village  improvements. 

New  streets  w^ere  being  laid  out.  In  1828  Charles  Stearns  was  ap- 
pointed to  widen  and  deepen  a  part  of  the  town  brook,  for  which  he 
used  1,500  feet  of  block  stone,  over  10,000  bricks,  and  9,000  feet  of 
planking.  There  was  a  bit  of  what  now  seems  vandalism  attending 
these  improvements.  In  May,  1829,  Charles  Stearns  proposed  to 
cut  down  an  ancient  elm  standuig  on  Main  street,  near  the  land  of 
George  Bliss,  in  order  to  carry  out  the  work  of  draining  the  meadow 
by  enlarging  the  brook.  The  elm  was  in  the  way,  and  much  feeling 
was  caused  b}-  the  plan  to  cut  it  down.  The  Blisses  applied  to 
Chief-Justice  Parker  for  an  injunction,  which,  after  a  learned  argu- 
ment, was  denied,  and  the  elm  fell.  It  stood  on  ^lain  street,  opposite 
Bliss  street;  a  handsome  elm  stood  in  the  ^^ard  of  James  Bliss, 
which  was  cut  down  in  1853.  A  West  Springfield  farmer,  it  is 
said,  gathered  some  seeds  under  this  tree,  sowed  them,  and  in  due 
time  traded  elm  saplings  for  a  cemetery  lot,  whence  came  the  ave- 
nue of  elms  leading  to  the  beautiful  Maple-street  entrance  of  the 
cemetery.  The  oldest  elm  on  Court  square  was  planted  by  the 
Pynchon  family,  according  to  tradition,  and  was  a  large  tree  at 
the  Revolution.  It  is  understood  that  the  tree  at  the  north-east 
corner  of  Court  square  was  set  out  by  Mrs.  Charles  Sheldon  in 
what  was  then  her  door-yard.     The  other  trees  in  the  square  were 


The  Old  Elm,  on  Elm  Street. 


406  SPRTXGFIELD,    2636-1886. 

planted  in  1829,  by  Major  IngersoU,  David  A.  Adams,  and  others. 
The  subscription  to  meet  this  expense  was  signed  by  Daniel 
Bontecon,  Ebenezer  Russell,  William  Dwight,  George  Bliss,  Ben- 
jamin Day,  Henry  Sargent,   and  others. 

One  of  the  trees  which  figures  in  "  The  Autocrat  of  the  Breakfast 
Table  "  stood  on  Barnes's  lot,  on  the  old  line  between  the  Dwisrht 
pasture  and  the  Pynchon  lot.  It  was  called  the  largest  tree  in  New 
P^ngland,  and  Dr.  Holmes  calls  it  one  of  the  very  largest.  At  its 
most  slender  girth,  which  was  about  two  and  a  half  feet  from  the 
ground,  it  measured  twenty-eight  feet  in  circumference.  It  stood 
but  a  few  feet  from  the  brook  which  flowed  through  the  lot  and  there 
joined  the  town  brook  along  the  side  of  Main  street,  and  one  could 
almost  sit  under  its  great  branches  and  catch  the  trout  Avhicli 
abounded  in  the  stream.  The  rails  of  the  fences  for  which  the  old 
tree  was  the  union  post  had  been  placed  agamst  it  so  long  that  it  is 
said  the  tree  had  grown  around  them.  In  July,  1858,  the  eastern 
half  felL  but  the  other  half  stood  until  April,  1864.  The  tree  in  front 
of  the  Elm-street  school-house  was  planted  by  Dr.  William  Seldon, 
who  lived  on  the  site  of  the  Elm-street  school,  over  one  hundred 
years  ago,  and  despite  some  attempts  to  have  it  cut  down  still  stands. 
A.  D.  Briggs  saved  this  tree  when  the  school-house  was  built,  in 
1867,  from  being  destroyed  to  give  a  little  more  sidewalk  room. 

There  was  another  elm  opposite  Worthington  street,  on  the  east 
side  of  Main,  which  was  cut  down  when  that  street  was  laid  out  in 
1841.  This  tree  was  often  called  the  '^  offering  tree,"  as  the  dense 
shade  of  the  tree  and  the  unfrequented  neighborhood  made  a  favorite 
resort.  The  roots  of  the  tree  protruded  in  a  snarl  on  the  south 
path.  We  have  before  spoken  of  the  trees  in  North  Main  street 
which  were  set  out  in  1770,  by  Maj.  Joseph  Stebbins  and  his  son, 
Festus  Stebbins.  Mr.  Stebbins  brought  the  trees  from  West  Spring- 
field on  his  back  and  in  a  boat.  The  row  formerly  extended  from 
Carew  street  to  Cypress  street,  but  it  has  been  reduced  so  that  there 
are  but  five  elms  and  a  button-ball  of  the  orioinal  row  standino-.     The 


SPRINGFIELD,     I636~2SS6.  407 


row  of  elins  on  r>entoii  park  was  set  out  by  Stephen  O.  Russell  in  1835, 
and  Mr.  Russell  set  out  many  other  trees.  The  trees  for  a  great 
part  in  the  armory  grounds  were  planted  under  the  supervision  of 
Major  IngersoU,  who  must  be  called  one  of  the  patron  saints  of 
Arbor  Day.  There  is  a  large  elm  nearly  opposite  the  Olivet  church 
which  was  native  where  it  stands.  The  Federal-street  trees  were  set 
out  luider  General  Whitney's  administration.  Another  fine  specimen 
of  the  old  elms  is  the  one  near  York  street  on  Main  street.  The 
tree  near  the  jNIemorial  church  is  a  very  fine  specimen.  The  two 
magnificent  trees  on  State  street,  just  above  P^lliott,  were  set  out  by 
Capt.  William  Childs  about  1832.  Charles  Stearns  moved  an  elm 
from  his  garden  to  the  street  in  front  of  his  residence  and  carefully 
watered  and  cared  for  it.  It  stands  on  the  corner  of  Maple  and 
Union  streets,  and  is  sometimes  called  the  Stearns  elm. 

In  1830  the  Springfield  fire  department  was  incorporated,  and  here 
follows  the  first  officers  :  Elijah  Blake,  chief  engineer  ;  George  Bliss, 
first  assistant ;  Simon  Sanborn,  second  assistant ;  Edwin  Booth,  third 
assistant.  The  fire  wardens  were  Charles  Stearns,  Charles  Howard, 
Joseph  Lombard,  Jr.,  Silas  Stedman,  Stephen  C.  Bemis,  Samuel 
Henshaw,  William  Childs,  Theodore  Bliss,  Allen  Bangs,  Ithamer 
Goodman,  and  Charles  J.  Upham.  Elijah  Blake  Avas  the  soul  of  this 
department,  and  stands  now  as  the  father  of  Springfield  fire  depart- 
ment. An  engine-house  had  been  built  in  182G  (corner  Sanford 
and  Market  streets) . 

Evidence  of  lawless  men  abounded  in  those  days,  and  the  author- 
ities had  their  hands  full  for  a  time.  In  1828  a  number  of  bold  bur- 
glaries took  place,  and  the  people  began  to  know  the  value  of  lock 
and  key.  Up  to  the  War  of  1812  no  one  bolted  the  door  of  their 
residence  in  the  town.  This  was  true,  by  the  way,  of  most  of  the 
New  England  villages.  In  1828  John  Kinder,  employed  by  Coolidge 
&  Sanderson,  stole  one  hundred  and  sixteen  musk-rat  skins  from 
them,  and  was  arrested  Avhile  attempting  to  dispose  of  them  at 
Worcester.     A  gang  of    tliieves  had   spread  their  operations  through 


408  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


all  this  region.  They  had  made  raids  upon  the  stores  of  Bemis 
&  Sheffield,  Chicopee  ;  J.  &  C.  Ely,  West  Springfield;  Winslow's 
clock  shop,  and  the  residence  of  Jonathan  Blake,  in  this  town. 
Elijah  Blake  distinguished  himself  by  organizing  a  party.  The 
woods  were  scoured,  and  one  Russell  Stephenson  and  one  George 
Ball  were  overhauled  in  the  woods  Sunday  morning,  May  24,  1829, 
in  a  hovel  where  booty  was  concealed.  Stephenson  drew  a  pistol  on 
Blake,  but  he  was  not  quick  enough.  Ball  was  seized  by  W.  Chapin, 
and  it  was  said  at  the  time  that  some  of  the  party  were  too  busy 
looking  out  for  their  own  safety  in  the  event  of  stray  bullets  to  be  of 
service.  Judge  George  Bliss  committed  the  men  for  trial.  Erastus 
Stephenson  (a  brother)  was  also  arrested.  At  the  trial  of  Stephen- 
son and  Ball  a  humorous  court  scene  is  still  remembered.  The 
prisoners  had  entered  George  Blake's  house  through  the  buttery  win- 
dow by  pulling  away  a  twine  net,  and  the  lawyer  for  the  defence 
asked  the  judge  to  charge  that  burglary  implied  a  breaking  of  the 
house,  and  "  that  tearing  down  a  net  made  of  double  twine  nailed 
to  keep  out  cats  is  not  such  a  breaking  as  to  constitute  the  offence 
charged."  The  judge  declined  to  so  charge  ;  the  case  went  up  on 
appeal,  and  the  prisoners  were  sent  to  prison  for  life.  "William  L. 
Loring  was  convicted  this  year  also  for  receiving  and  concealing  a 
body  taken  from  the  Springfield  burying-ground  on  Elm  street. 

Among  the  prominent  Springfieid-^nen  wlio  died  during  this  period 
may  be  mentioned  John , ^Hooker,  judge  of  probate  from  1813  to 
1829.  He  was  president  of  The  Springfield  Bank,  and  was  one  of 
Springfield's  substantial  citizens,  a  man  of  integrity,  and  much  hon- 
ored. Jonathan  Dwight,  Jr.,  succeeded  him  at  the  head  of  the 
Springfield  r>ank,  Oliver  B.  Morris,  his  old  friend,  took  his  place  as 
probate  judge,  and  Justice  AVillard  was  made  register  of  probate. 
George  Bliss,  Sr.,  passed  away  the  8th  of  March,  1830,  aged  sixty, 
and  a  few  days  later  the  venerable  Dr.  Chauncey  Brewer  died 
(March  15,  aged  eighty-seven).  The  doctor  was  the  oldest  prac- 
titioner of  western   Massachusetts,    and   the   same   aoe  of    Jonathan 


^da^O/rdy  ut/znyJuw 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6.  411 


and  arrangements  were  soon  thereafter  made  with  the  proprietors  of 
the  locks  and  canals  of  the  Connecticut.  Books  for  subscription  to 
the  stock  of  the  "  Connecticut  River  Valley  Steamboat  Company  " 
were  at  once  opened  at  the  Hampden  Coffee  House.  Charles  Stearns 
contracted  with  the  directors  to  superintend  the  building  of  a  number 
of  boats.  Three  boats  were  already  plying  between  Springfield  and 
Hartford.  The  steamer  ''  Springfield  "  was  run  by  the  Connecticut 
River  Valley  Company.  It  was  partly  burned  at  the  wharf  in  Novem- 
ber, 1830.  The  "  Hampden,"  used  mainly  for  freight,  was  owned  by 
John  Cooley  &  Co.,  and  the  "Vermont"  was  run  by  Sargeant  & 
Chapin.  The  Valley  Company  launched  the  "John  Ledyard  "  in 
April,  1831.  Captain  Blanchard's  new  boat,  the  "Massachusetts," 
was  launched  April  14.  It  was  ninety-six  feet  long,  and  considered  a 
beauty.  The  "  William  Hall,"  owned  by  the  Valley  Company,  ran 
up  from  Hartford  in  July,  1831,  with  a  number  of  the  directors,  and 
received  a  warm  greeting.  Some  people,  with  then-  feet  in  the  dust 
of  the  past,  called  these  Connecticut  boats  "sauce-pans,"  and  had 
their  smile  when  the  "  Massachusetts  "  was  not  small  enough  to  go 
through  the  Enfield  canal,  and  had  to  wait  high  water  in  order  to  run 
up  the  falls.  As  an  evidence  of  travel  and  curiosity  as  to  western 
Massachusetts,  it  may  be  stated  that  one  boat  (August,  1831)  took 
down  to  Hartford  no  less  than  sixty  passengers,  most  of  them  tour- 
ists, and  the  steamboat  "William  Hall"  would  arrive  at  the  wharf 
with  six  and  eight  boats  in  tow.  The  Valley  Company,  at  this  time, 
owned  some  thirty  freight  boats,  and  charged  $2,000  for  the  season. 
It  had  $38,000  invested,  of  which  $7,000  was  borrowed.  The  Spring- 
field and  Albany  stage  over  the  Pontoosuc  turnpike  began  running  in 
June,  1831.  The  Farmington  canal  was  opened  in  1828,  and  con- 
tinued in  operation  eighteen  years. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

18;31-1841. 

The  Era  of  Eailroad  Building.  —  Canal  and  Railroad  Advocates.  —  The  Old  Western  Road. 
-  A  Mass  Meeting  at  Springfield.  —  Hartford's  Rival  Scheme.  -  Stock  Subscriptions. 
—Seeking  State  Aid.—  Democratic  Party  Opposition.  -  River  Boats.  —  Chicopee  and 
Cabotville.- School  Districts.  -  Activity  in  Real  Estate.  -A  Washington's  Birthday 
Celebration.  ^  Visit  of  Henry  Clay..  -William  B.  Calhoun.  -  Temperance.  -  Elliot- 
Buckland  Murder  Trial. —Revolutionary  Pensioners. —George  Bliss  in  Politics. - 
Springfield's  Bi-centennial.  -  Fourth  of  July  at  Factory  Village.  —  George  Bancroft  in 
Local  Politics.  —  The  Fifteen-Gallon  Law.-  Marcus  Morton.  —A  Harrison  Demonstra- 
tion. —  Slavery.  -  Dr.  Osgood.  —  Springfield  Statistics.  —  Newspapers.  -  Dr.  Joshua 
Frost.  — Churches.  —The  Fire  Department.  —  Military  Companies. 

On  the  23d  of  June,  1831,  the  Boston  &  Worcester  Railroad  Corpora- 
tion was  chartered.  On  the  21st  of  December,  1841 ,  the  railroad  from 
Albany  to  Chatham  Four  Corners,  N.  Y.,  was  so  far  completed 
that  trains  passed  through  to  Worcester,  thus  joining  Boston  and 
Albany  with  a  continuous  rail.  This,  then,  was  the  decade  of  pio- 
neer railroads.  The  project  of  a  canal  over  this  route  had  fallen 
through.  Governor  Eustis  had  favored  it  early  in  1825,  and  Governor 
Lincoln  later  in  that  year  viewed  it  with  equal  favor  after  a  commis- 
sion had  gone  over  the  ground,  although  he  took  occasion  to  speak 
of  railroads  as  a  promising  means  of  transportation.  The  commis- 
sioners' report  of  1826  had  favored  a  canal  i-oute  through  Worces- 
ter county,  up  the  Deerfield  river,  and  through  Hoosac  mountain  by  a 
four-mile  tunnel;  estimated  cost,  $(3,824,072.  But  at  this  session 
Senator  Mills,  Representative  Calhoun,  and  the  other  members  of  the 
committee  on  roads  and  canals  recommended  that  railroad  commis- 
sioners be  appointed  to  investigate  the  subject.  The  House  refused 
to  do  so. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6.  413 


'^  There  are  possibilities  here,"  remarked  Daniel  Webster,  in  July, 
1826,  as  he  saw  loaded  cars  drawn  on  rail  by  horses.  He  had  gone 
down  to  Quincy  to  attend  the  funeral  of  John  Adams,  and  had 
chanced  upon  the  only  railroad  then  in  the  country.  It  was  a  three- 
mile   track,   designed  to   transport  granite  from  the   quarries  to  the 

water. 

In  1828  we  find  the  Legislature  discussing  a  southern  railroad 
route  through  Worcester  and  Springfield,  and  a  northern  route 
through  Watertown,  Rutland,  Belchertown,  Northampton,  Adams, 
and  Hoosac  Four  Corners.  Here  arose  a  danger  to  Springfield's  su- 
premacy in  western  Massachusetts.  Under  the  transportation  sys- 
tem of  stage,  canopied  wagon,  and  boat,  Springfield  had  won.  With 
the  rise  of  the  new  day-star  of  commerce,  Hartford  and  Northamp- 
ton and  Worcester  were  ready  to  renew  the  fight. 

The  directors  of  the  Boston  &  AVorcester  Railroad  Company  secured 
a  charter  in  March,  1833,  to  run  a  railroad  from  Worcester  to  Spring- 
field, and  thence  westward  to  the  State  line.  This  supplementary 
company  was  called  the  Western  Railroad  Corporation.  Povver  was 
given  this  corporation  to  build  branch  roads.  New  York  State 
responded  to  the  call  by  chartering,  in  1834,  the  Castleton  &  AVest 
Stockbridge  Railroad,  or,  as  it  was  called  two  years  later,  the 
Albany  &  AYest  Stockbridge  Company.  The  stock  was  readily  taken, 
and  the  company  organized  in  1835.  The  Boston  &  AYorcester  road 
was  opened  to  AYestboro'  in  November,  1834,  but  aside  from  Spring- 
field and  the  towns  east,  no  town  made  any  determined  effort  to  place 
the  stock  of  the  AA^estern  road. 

Popular  scepticism  was  about  equally  divided  between  the  financial 
and  engineering  difficulties.  The  New  York  Stock  Exchange  made  an 
attempt  to  get  control  of  the  proposed  road,  but  the  offers  were  de- 
clined with  thanks.  At  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Springfield, 
January  2,  1835,  this  committee  of  inquiry  and  correspondence  Avas 
appointed:  William  B.  Calhoun,  George  Bliss,  George  Ashmun, 
Charles  Stearns,  Justice  AYillard,  AV.   H.   Bowdoin,  and  J.  B.  Shef- 


414  SPRINGFIELD,    16S6-1886. 


field.  The  result  of  their  deliberations  was  a  mass  meeting  at  the 
Sprnigfield  town-hall,  February  16,  George  Bliss  making  a  favorable 
report  upon  the  practicability  of  a  road,  and  advising  a  convention 
of  delegates  from  the  towns  on  the  proposed  route  to  consider  the 
ways  and  means  of  building  the  road.  Worcester  was  the  place  and 
March  0  the  date  of  this  convention,  which  numbered  over  one  hundred 
delegates.  Caleb  Rice  was  in  the  chair,  and  Reuben  A.  Chapman 
secretary.  Aside  from  a  desire  in  Worcester  that  that  place  be  the 
permanent  terminus  of  the  Boston  road,  there  was  little  opposition  in 
passing  resolves  to  make  surveys  from  Worcester  to  Springfield.  The 
executive  committee  intrusted  with  this  work  were  the  chairman  and 
secretary  of  the  convention,  W.  H.  Bowdoin,  of  Springfield,  Joel 
Norcross,  of  Monson,  and  N.  P.  Dewey,  of  Leicester.  The  onus  of 
this  survey  fell  upon  George  Bliss,  who  was,  in  fact,  the  apostle  of 
railroading  here  in  western  Massachusetts.  Col.  John  M.  Fessenden, 
chief  engineer  of  the  Boston  &  Worcester  Railroad,  made  the  sur- 
vey, and  also  examined  a  route  between  Springfield  and  Hartford. 
He  was  assisted  by  William  S.  Whitwell,  now  of  Brookline,  and  the 
late  William  Parker,  Samuel  Nott,  of  Hartford,  and  others.  It  was 
found,  by  reference  to  stage-books  and  landlords,  that  55,510  people 
had  passed  in  one  year  between  Worcester  and  Springfield,  and  that 
the  freight  was  42,000  tons.  Allowing  $1.75  fare  for  passengers, 
and  $4  per  ton  for  merchandise,  they  had  an  annual  revenue  of  about 
$265,100,  less  $85,000  estimated  expenses,  leaving  $180,100  net  in- 
come, Avhich  was  about  16  per  cent,  on  the  estimated  cost  of  the  road. 
This  report  was  printed  and  used  to  secure  subscriptions. 

Hartford  was  now  anxious  to  snatch  the  crown  from  Springfield  by 
making  a  railroad  connection  directly  with  A¥orcester,  cross  country. 
A  large  convention,  held  at  Hartford  in  March,  1835,  voiced  her 
desires,  and  another  convention  was  arranged  to  be  held  at  Worcester 
a  little  later. 

By  May  the  A\^orcester  &  Hartford  Railroad  Company  was  chartered 
by  the  Connecticut  Legislature  to  connect  the  Hartford  &  New  Haven 


SPRINGFIELD,    1 636-1 S  8  6.  415 


road  with  the  Boston  &  Worcester.  The  next  thing  which  the  people 
of  Springfield  had  to  meet  was  a  proposed  road  from  Hartford  to 
Albany.  This  meant  a  Boston,  Hartford,  &  Alban}^  Railroad,  and 
Springfield  a  tributar^^  snbnrb. 

All  these  interests  came  together  with  a  clash  at  Worcester,  July 
2,  1835,  as  arranged  by  the  Hartford  convention.  Levi  Lincoln 
was  called  upon  to  preside.  There  were  more  Connecticut  than  Massa- 
chusetts delegates  from  the  thirty-fi^'e  towns  represented.  George 
Bliss  spoke  for  Springfield,  Nathan  Hale  for  the  Boston  &  Worcester 
road,  John  A.  Rockwell  for  the  Norwich  route,  and  General  Johnson 
pleaded  the  cause  of  Hartford  and  "  the  direct  "  route.  He  w^as  sup- 
ported by  Nathan  Smith,  of  New  Haven,  and  Major  Putnam,  of 
Hartford,  the  latter  stating,  upon  the  authority  of  Albany  business 
men,  that,  in  the  winter,  communication  between  Troy  and  New  York 
was  destined  to  be  via  Hartford  and  New  Haven.  It  would  have 
been  unwise  to  try  to  commit  the  convention  to  any  one  route,  and 
each  party  hastened  away  to  make  the  appeal  to  moneyed  men. 

Stock-books  of  the  Western  road  were  opened  in  August,  and  pub- 
lic meetings  were  held  from  one  end  of  tlie  State  to  the  other.  The 
$2,000,000  asked  for  was  not  secured,  however.  The  influence  of 
New  York  city  was  against  the  road,  since  it  was  feared  at  the 
metropolis  that  trade  would  be  drawn  from  Albany  to  Boston.  The 
merchants  of  New  York  did  not  propose  to  "  let  Boston  people  come 
Yanlvee  over  us."  In  this  emergency  a  meeting  was  held  in  Faneuil 
Hall,  Boston,  Oct.  7,  1835,  delegates  being  present  from  all  the 
towns  along  the  route,  including  Albany  itself.  The  old  hall  was 
full.  North  Appleton  gave  figures,  Hermanns  Bleeker  promised  that 
Albany  would  do  her  duty  up  to  the  State  line  whether  Massachu- 
setts did  or  not.  Edward  Everett  pledged  tlie  Commonwealth  to  a 
policy  of  progress,  and  AVilliam  B.  Calhoun  announced  that  his  town 
of  Springfield  had  already  taken  one-eighth  of  the  two  million,  and 
the  towns  from  the  river  to  Worcester  had  done  nobly. 

Another  canvass   was  made,   and  18,300  more  shares  were  sub- 


416  SPRINGFIELD,    1036-1886. 


scrii 


bed,  and  another  meeting  held  at  Boston,  this  time  in  the  Supreme 
Court  room,  on  the  20th  of  November.  There  was  still  a  deficiency, 
and  they  beat  the  bushes  once  more,  and  on  the  5th  of  December, 
1835,  the  stock  had  all  been  taken,  —  $2,000,000  with  2,200  share- 
holders. The  company  was  organized  in  January  following,  with 
these  du-ectors :  Thomas  B.  Wales,  William  Lawrence,  Edmund 
Dwight,  Henry  Rice,  John  Henshaw,  Francis  Jackson,  and  Josiah 
Quincy,  Jr.,  of  Boston,  and  Justice  AYillard  and  George  Bliss,  of 
Springfield.  We  do  not  know  why  Worcester  was  not  represented. 
The  fear  that  Worcester  was  to  be  simply  a  way  station  was  at  the 
bottom  of  much  opposition  to  the  Western  road,  and  Nathan  Hale, 
who  was  at  the  head  of  the  Boston  &  Worcester  road,  had  at  one 
time  met  opposition  to  his  scheme  by  threatening  not  to  deflect 
the  track  into  Worcester  at  all  if  obstruction  continue.  This  had  a 
very  sobering  effect. 

Thomas  B.  Wales  was  made  president  of  the  board  of  directors  of 
the  Western  road,  and  George  Bliss  general  agent  of  the  corpora- 
tion, the  latter  being  authorized  to  "  make  all  contracts  and  trans- 
act all  business  which  he  may  deem  necessary  for  its  interests." 
George  Ashmun  soon  presented  in  the  Legislature  a  petition  for  aid 
in  the  construction  of  the  road.  The  stock  of  the  road  had  been 
taken  not  by  capitalists,  but  by  men  of  moderate  means,  and  the 
State,  in  the  Ashmun  petition,  was  asked  to  charter  a  bank  to  be 
called  "  The  AYestern  Railroad  Bank,"  located  at  Boston,  capital, 
$5,000,000,  the  usual  bank  tax  of  which  to  be  paid  to  the  corporation 
for  twenty  years.  Tlie  charter  of  the  United  States  Bank  had  ex- 
pired that  year  and  a  new  charter  refused.  Thus  the  withdrawal 
of  the  capital  of  the  United  States  Bank  was  the  Western's  oppor- 
tunity. Other  petitions  for  a  bank  followed,  and  the  Ashmun 
scheme  was  pushed  aside.  A  bill  was  reported  in  March,  1836,  to 
establish  the  State  Bank  of  Massachusetts,  capital,  $10,000,000,  half 
to  be  subscribed  by  the  State  ;  payment  to  be  made  in  coin  or  State 
scrip,  interest  \\  per  cent.  ;  time,  twenty  years.     The   directors  were 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-2886.  417 

to  be  authorized  to  subscribe  for  10,000  shares  of  the  Western  road, 
the  bank  to  retain  one-half  the  bank  tax  on  its  capital,  and  the  in- 
come on  the  stock  in  the  road  until  the  assessments  on  the  road 
were  refunded.  The  democratic  party  declared  war  against  the  bill 
on  account  of  the  provision  for  such  an  immense  bank,  and  they 
succeeded  in  putting  through  a  substitute  bill,  authorizing  the  State 
treasurer  to  subscribe  $1,000,000  to  the  Western  stock,  provided  that 
three  of  the  directors  be  chosen  by  the  Legislature.  George  Bliss 
had  the  pleasure,  as  he  tells  us,  of  carrying  this  bill  to  Governor 
Everett  for  his  signature.  The  following  year  the  State  treasurer 
was  authorized  to  issue  scrip  to  pay  assessments  and  to  establish  a 
stock  sinking-fund.  The  Massachusetts  Bank  project  meantime  fell 
through. 

Hartford  was  still  an  applicant  for  a  Massachusetts  charter  for  its 
road,  being  supported,  too,  by  many  influential  men  in  Worcester 
county  ;  while  Berkshire  furnished  a  respectable  petition  for  a  road 
from  West  Stockbridge  to  the  Connecticut  State  line  toward  Hartford. 
Mr.  Bliss  was  appointed  to  oppose  the  Hartford  scheme,  and  after  a 
heated  contest  in  committee  the  petitioners  were  given  leave  to  with- 
draw. Surveys  along  the  Western  railroad  route  were  actively 
pushed  during  1836,  and  the  first  grading  was  begun  in  the  following 
winter. 

The  manner  of  entering  Springfield  furnished  occasion  for  man}^ 
local  heartburnings.  The  four  routes  discussed  were :  (1)  Cabot- 
ville,  a  little  south  of  Chicopee  Falls,  with  a  bridge  just  south  of  the 
mouth  of  the  river  ;  (2)  End  brook,  crossing  the  Connecticut  midway 
between  the  village  and  the  Chicopee  river;  (3)  Garden  brook,  very 
much  as  it  was  finally  built;  and  (4)  Mill  river,  thence  north  below 
Maple  and  Chestnut  streets  to  the  Garden  brook  line.  When  it  was 
thought  probable  that  the  Worthington  property  would  be  the  site  of 
the  depot,  an  agent  secured  of  the  New  York  owners  the  refusal  of 
the  property  at  a  certain  sum.  A  charge  of  speculation  was  subse- 
quently made.     The  present  route  was  approved  by  the  directors  in 


418  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


the  spring  of  1837.  The  work  during  this  year  was  delayed  on 
account  of  lack  of  funds ;  many  refused  to  pay  assessments  and 
surrendered  their  stock,  which  was  in  some  cases  resold.  Six  assess- 
ments ($900,000)  had  been  made,  but  only  about  two-thirds  of  the 
amount  had  been  realized.  Mr.  Bliss,  who  took  a  prominent  part 
during  these  trying  days,  says  :  — 

The  estimates  of  the  engineers  for  the  whole  line  were  before  the  board  by 
midsummer  (1837),  requiring  for  grading,  bridging,  superstructure,  and  land 
damages  a  little  less  than  $4,000,000,  exclusive  of  engineering,  depots,  and  gen- 
eral expenses.  The  funds  provided  were  only  f3, 000, 000  in  stock,  if  the  whole 
should  be  paid ;  and  under  the  most  prosperous  condition  of  the  country,  there 
was  enough  to  dishearten  the  most  arduous  friends  of  the  enterprise.  But 
superadded  to  this  came  the  tinancial  storm  of  1837,  which  Avas  winging  its  fearful 
course  over  the  entire  land,  visiting  Massachusetts,  and  particularly  Boston,  and 
sparing  no  commercial  community.  Those  who  had  subscribed  to  the  stock 
taxed  every  energy  to  meet  the  calls.  But  the  cold  paralysis  had  blighted  the 
fairest  prospects.  The  stockholders  of  this  company  suffered  wiih  the  rest,  and 
it  became  necessary  that  some  jjower,  measurably  unaffected  by  the  pressure, 
should  again  step  forward. 

This  relief  was  the  credit  of  the  State,  and  State  scrip  to  the 
amount  of  $2,100,000,  payable  in  thirty  years  in  London,  at  five  per 
cent,  interest,  was  authorized  after  a  severe  struggle.  The  directors 
of  the  Western  road  were  compelled  to  combat  lukewarmness  also  at 
Albany,  as  Uttle  or  nothing  was  being  done  by  the  Albau}^  company 
but  talk,  and  there  was  every  evidence  that  the  stock  of  that  com- 
pany was  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  New  York  capitalists. 

The  directors  of  the  Western  were  again  before  the  Legislature  for 
State  aid  in  1839,  and  secured,  after  another  investigation,  author- 
ity for  $1,500,000  more  in  scrip,  and  by  October,  1839,  trains  were 
running  between  Worcester  and  Springfield.  There  was  a  grand 
celebration  upon  the  arrival  of  the  first  train  the  first  week  in  Octo- 
ber. James  Parker  was  the  conductor,  and  continued  in  that  service 
for  many  years.     A  procession  was  formed,  and  after  marching  down 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  419 

and  up  Main  street,  a  stop  was  made  at  the  round-house  at  the  depot, 
where  a  dinner  was  in  waiting.  The  tables  were  arranged  like  the 
spokes  of  a  wheel.  George  Ashmun  presided,  and  at  the  table  were 
Levi  Lincoln,  Edward  Everett,  Amasa  Walker,  Nathan  Hale,  Justice 
AVillard,  and  editors  and  public  men  from  half-a-dozen  towns.  Let- 
ters were  read  from  John  Quincy  Adams,  Benjamin  Russell,  Abbott 
Lawrence,  Stephen  Fairbanks,  Chief-Justice  Ward,  Julius  Rockwell, 
and  others.  Edward  Everett  made  a  very  glowing  speech,  closing 
with  this  passage  :  — 

On  my  last  visit  to  Springfield,  a  year  or  two  ago,  my  esteemed  friend,  just 
named  (Mr.  Peabody),  who  has  labored  with  so  much  diligence  and  success  on 
the  ornithology  of  the  State,  informed  me  that  one  of  these  little  sea-birds  (stormy 
petrel)  had  left  his  mark  upon  the  mountain  wave,  his  home  upon  the  deep,  and 
had  been  found  near  the  Chicopee  river,  within  the  limits  of  the  town  of  Spring- 
field, seventy  miles,  at  least,  in  air  line  from  tide-water,  and  hundreds  of  miles 
from  his  accustomed  range  on  the  seas.  What  could  be  the  object  of  this  mys- 
terious little  visitant  ?  Who  can  tell  ?  On  his  native  element  the  sailors  regard 
him  with  an  unfriendly  eye ;  on  shore,  by  the  rule  of  contraries,  he  may  come  as 
the  harbinger  of  God.  Perhaps,  sir,  he  had  heard  of  your  railroad,  and  had 
come  to  try  the  speed  of  his  pinions  with  your  locomotives.  Whatever  be  his 
object,  I  am  disposed  to  regard  his  visit  as  a  good  omen.  As  the  bird  of  the 
land  in  the  infancy  of  our  race  came  back  to  the  ark  with  an  olive  branch  in  her 
mouth,  as  a  sign  that  the  waters  were  abated  from  off  the  earth,  let  us  welcome 
the  little  sea-bird  who  has  come  up  to  the  hills  as  the  herald  to  tell  us  that  the 
portals  of  the  deep  are  thrown  open,  that  the  chariots  of  fire  and  iron  are  rolling 
over  its  waters,  and  that  henceforth,  if  never  before  — 
Seas  shall  join  the  regions  they  divide. 

Albany  still  lingered  over  its  part  of  the  great  work,  and  in  1840 
George  Bliss,  Charles  Stearns,  and  a  large  delegation  of  AYestern 
stockholders  visited  the  capital  of  New  York.  They  secured  an 
agreement  with  the  city  of  Albany  to  subscribe  $650,000  to  the  stock 
of  the  Albany  Railroad  Company ;  the  Albany  company  agreed  to 
intrust  to  the  Western  road  the  location  and  construction  of.  the  road 
lying   in   New  York,   and    further  agreements  were  made  with  the 


420  SPRINGFIELD,     I6S6-1SS6. 

Hudson  and  Berkshire  company.  Albany  raised  more  funds,  the 
total  bonds  of  the  city  reaching  Si, 000, 000,  less  ten  per  cent,  to  the 
sinking-fund.  The  cost  of  the  road  was  estimated  at  81,412,804, 
which  deficiency  was  met  b}'  the  Western  company. 

General  extravagance  was  charged  upon  the  directors  of  the  Western 
road,  and  in  the  winter  of  1840  an  investigation,  extending  over  a 
month,  took  place,  Henry  Sterns,  of  Springfield,  and  Edmund 
Dwight,  of  Boston,  appearing  as  complainants,  while  George  Bliss 
defended  the  road.  It  was,  in  fact,  an  investigation  of  George  Bliss 
himself,  as  he  was  charged  with  quite  an  extensive  scheme  of  land 
speculation  ;  but  it  was  proved  that  instead  of  making  money  out  of 
the  location  of  the  road  it  Avas  the  corporation  that  was  benefited  by 
his  liberal  terms.     Other  officers  emerged  with  equalh^  clean  skirts. 

A  third  grant  of  scrip  was  asked  of  the  Legislature  in  1841,  which 
was  secured  after  the  usual  fight.  Thus  the  funds  were  provided 
and  the  trains  running  between  Boston  and  Albany  before  Christmas 
of  that  year. 

George  Bliss  soon  became  interested  in  railroading.  He  w  as  event- 
ually chosen  president  of  the  IMichigan  Southern  road,  which  position 
he  held  until  the  road  was  completed  to  Chicago.  He  also  became 
president  of  the  Chicago  &  Mississippi  road,  one  of  the  projectors 
of  the  Hartford  &  Springfield  road,  and  director  of  the  Chicago 
&  Rock  Island  road.  He  was  instrumental  in  building  more  than 
six  hundred  miles  of  tlie  through  line  between  the  Mississippi  river 
and  Boston. 

The  Connecticut  River  Valle}'  Steamboat  Company  were  in  trouble 
in  1832,  and  some  of  the  stockholders  withdrew  from  the  concern, 
which  was  $17,000  behind  its  accounts.  The  river  traffic  was  cer- 
tainly not  flat  at  this  time.  The  "  AYilliam  Hall  "  and  "John  Cooley  " 
brought  from  Hartford,  June  2,  twelve  boats  with  two  hundred  and 
fifty  tons  of  merchandise,  one-half  for  this  town.  But  the  Valley 
Steamboat  Company  failed  in  August,  1832,  and  boating  was  carried 
on  by  smaller  companies  and  concerns. 


^u)rH^ 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  423 

the  river  to  Chestnut  street,  by  Mr.  Stearns,  he  had  a  house  wanning 
at  the  old  Worthington  house,  which  had  been  moved  back  to  Water 
street.     Judge  Morris  entertained  the  company  with  reminiscences. 

There  was  quite  a  brisk  trade  in  lots  at  the  time,  and  a  fifty  per 
cent,  advance  over  ruling  prices  for  years  was  the  rule.  The  Lyman 
farm,  owned  by  R.  Emery,  East  North  Main  street,  had  jumped  from 
810,000  to  $20,000.  It  was  natural  that  in  the  real-estate  activity 
that  rumors  connected  the  railroad  promoters  with  speculations. 
These  insinuations  were  resented  and  the  rumors  formally  denied. 

In  1831  the  democrats  put  up  for  senators  James  Kent  and  Harvey 
Chapin,  and  one  of  their  handbills  gives  the  best  expression  to  their 
notions  of  the  situation.     Here  it  is  :  — 

Shall  a  Charles  X.  and  his  Polignac  grind  us  to  the  face  of  the  earth?  It 
Avas  for  their  enormous  expenditure,  and  taking  from  the  mass  of  the  people  — 
tlie  workingmen  —  the  real  bone  and  sineAv  of  the  country  —  their  just  rights,  that 
the  good  LaFayette  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  noble  workingmen  of  Paris 
and  hurled  their  oppressors  from  power.  "We  have  our  aristocracy,  our  Charles 
X.  and  our  Polignac,  and  A\e  have  them  at  our  very  doors.  Who  have  hitherto 
controlled  the  elections  in  this  county  ?  A  small  band  of  lawyers  and  Springfield 
aristocrats.  Who  boast  that  Enos  Foote  and  John  Xyles  shall  be  forced  upon 
the  Avorkingmen?  This  little  band  of  laAvyers  and  aristocrats  Avho  nominated 
them.  Who  boast  that  the  present  splendid  State  Government  to  the  tune  of 
.$293,000  per  annum  shall  continue  to  be  forced  upon  the  people?  This  same 
aristocratic  ruffled  shirt  party!  Who  Avill  sustain  the  lawyer's  bar  rules?  Who 
Avill  continue  to  oppress  the  people  Avith  the  present  oppressive  laAvs  for  the  sup- 
port of  religious  Avorship?  Who  Avould  deprive  every  independent  Avorkingman 
but  to  deceive  and  cajole  us?  The  aristocracy  !  The  laAvyers !  The  ruffle  shirt 
party ! 

The  celebration  of  Washington's  birthday  in  1832  was  another  of 
those  fete  days  that  the  town  may  well  remember.  No  less  than  three 
thousand  people  participated,  and  politics  was  forgotten.  Cannon 
on  Armory  hill  and  Court  square  were  thundering  at  daybreak,  and 
every  church   bell   Avas  ringing.     Col.  Ithamer  Goodman   formed  the 


424  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

procession  at  the  town-house  just  before  noon,  the  escort  comprising 
the  Springfield  Home  Guards  under  Captain  Upham,  the  Springfield 
Artillery  under  Captain  Cooley,  the  Hampden  Grays  (Westfield)  under 
Captain  Parsons,  and  the  Hampden  Guards  under  Captain  Bates.  The 
column  proceeded  to  Dr.  Osgood's  meeting-house,  in  the  galleries  of 
which,  we  are  informed,  the  "  ladies  seemed  animated."  Hundreds  on 
hundreds  were  unable  to  get  inside  the  house.  The  Springfield  Musical 
Society  performed  an  overture,  and  ColonelAVarriner  led  the  choir  in 
rendering  some  sacred  music.  Rev.  Mr.  Putnam  led  in  prayer,  and 
J.  W.  Crooks  read  passages  of  Washington's  farewell  address.  Then 
came  more  music  and  the  oration  b}^  George  Ashmuu. 

At  the  town-hall  banquet,  later  in  the  day.  Colonel  Lee  —  that 
famous  toast-master  —  presided,  and  it  was  said  that  never  did  "a 
cold  cut  and  a  glass  of  wine  "  go  with  better  relish  than  thiS^ temper- 
ance collation.  In  the  evenino;  there  was  dancino^  at  Colonel  Rus- 
sell's  hall,  while  at  Factory  Village  "  300  fair  spinsters  skipped  over 
the  floor"  of  the  new  factory  building. 

In  November,  1833,  Henry  Clay  and  famiW  arrived  at  Springfield 
and  were  warmly  w^elcomed.  A  Hartford  committee  escorted  Mr. 
Clay  to  Enfield,  where  a  large  cavalcade  of  Springfield  men  met  them. 
Their  entrance  into  the  village  was  heralded  by  ringing  of  bells  and 
the  firing  of  cannon.  William  G.  Bates,  of  Westfield,  was  at  the 
Hampden  Coffee-house  (then  kept  by  Horatio  Sargeant)  with  an  ele- 
gant whip  which  had  been  made  for  Mr.  Clay,  who  took  it  with  the 
remark  that  he  was  proud  of  such  a  gift  from  friends,  but  that  he 
would  not  take  such  a  thing  from  an  eneni}^,  —  a  bit  of  grim  pleas- 
antry, by  tlie  way,  as  his  political  enemies  had  just  given  him  a  sound 
thrashing.  Mr.  Clay  held  a  reception  in  the  town-hall,  which  was 
attended  by  ladies,  and  accompanied  by  a  formal  address  of  welcome 
from  the  lips  of  Judge  Oliver  B.  Morris. 

The  Hampden  Coffee-house  would  make  a  rare  subject  for  an  anti- 
quarian, but  we  must  be  content  with  passing  references  and  a  repro- 
duction of  its  outlines,  so  familiar  to  the  older  inhabitants. 


m 


4 
4 

4\ 


NORTH  SIDE  OF  COURT  SQUARE, 


SPRLVGFIELD,   MASS. 


THE  subscriber  has  furnished  the  oew  and  elesani  brick  house,  erected  the  last  season  on  lUe 
comer  of  Court  Sqoare,  for  the  reception  of  company.  It  is  deemed  by  competent  judges  to  he 
llie  most  commodious  building  of  the  kind  in  the  state,  west  of  Boston,  and  its  situation  is  pecuHarly 
pleasant  and  attractive. — Travellers  and  parties  of  business  or  pleasure,  will  find  every  accommoda  • 
tlon  usual  in  such  establishments,  and  can  at  all  limes  have  access  to  a  room  regularly  provided  uiili 
the  leading  newspapers  and  journals  in  the  United  States. 

The  CHOICEST  LIQUORS  will  at  all  times  be  kept ;  and  during  the  summer  months  a 


0©®^  i^^wif^^isr 


Vill  be  attached  to  the  establishment. 

HOUSES    AXT)    CAHISIIAGES 

will  be  furnished  at  the  shortest  notice. — The  subscriber  will  be  assiduous  and  devoted  in  his  atten- 
tion to  all  who  may  honor  him  with  their  company. 

E.UAST\I^  CHAP  IX. 

Springfield,  June,  1822. 


Tanaatt  ^  Co,  Printers,  Springjield. 


'^■^^i'^^^'^^f  5pl|'  5|f5p!5f  ■! 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18SG. 


425 


William  B.  Calboim  was  nominated  for  Congress  as  a  whig  in 
1834.  The  "  Hampden  Whig  "  called  him  a  poor  man,  and  the  "  Re- 
publican "  retorted:  "  They  now  sneer  at   a  man  because  he  is  poor. 


The  Old  Hampden  Coffee-House. 

O  shame  !  "     This  flier,  sent  to  the  voters  by  the  whigs,  more  fully 
reflects  the  tension  of  that  canvass  :  — 

What  do  the  Tories  vrant?  They  have  got  complete  possession  of  the  United 
States  Armory.  They  now  want  to  get  hold  of  the  treasury  of  Massachusetts. 
Van  Buren  has  chained  United  States  with  his  great  league  of  Safety  Fund 
Banks ;  and  be  noAv  desires  to  put  the  chains  upon  us.  Citizens  of  the  Bay  State, 
will  you  submit?  Will  you  bend  the  knee  to  the  great  Golden  Calf  which  Van 
Buren  is  setting  up?  "Let  the  aristocracy  of  Springfield  support  their  own 
paupers !  "  So  speaks  the  Jackson  paper  of  our  friend  and  fellow-citizen, 
William  B-  Calhoun  ! !  Yes  — in  order  to  defeat  the  election  of  WiUiam  B.  Cal- 
houn and  to  help  0.  H.  Warner  and  J.  W.  Crooks,  &c.,  the  leading  Tories 
denounce  Mr.  Calhoun  as  a  pauper  of  Springfield.  Men  of  honorable  feeling 
of  all  parties  !  show  your  indignation  at  the  polls  ! 


y 


426  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6. 

Calhoun  got  a  rousing  majo^it3^  He  liad  liad  the  satisfaction  also 
that  year  to  have  received  all  the  votes  but  one  for  the  speakership 
at  Boston.  He  probably  never  came  nearer  to  eloquence  than  in  his 
Fourth  of  July  address  that  year.  The  celebration  was  made  of 
special  interest  by  the  death  a  few  days  previous  of  Lafayette. 
"  Deep  is  the  sleep  of  the  hero  !"  exclaimed  Mr.  Calhoun,  and  he 
paused,  when  the  choir,  under  Colonel  Warriner,  burst  forth  with 
an  anthem  beginning  with  those  words,  and  there  were  patriotic 
tears  for  the  dead.  The  peculiar  quality  in  Mr.  Calhoun,  —  this 
career  of  dignified  posturing  for  a  principle  or  an  economic  fact,  this 
life-study  for  the  wealth  and  prosperity  of  public  institutions,  with 
the  utter  neglect  of  his  own  finances,  this  old-fashioned  faith,  that 
eased  his  declining  years  by  the  acceptance  of  a  deaconship  in 
the  First  Church  with  deeper  gratification  than  a  score  of  politi- 
cal honors,  —  what  wonder  that  he  remained  for  so  many  years 
the  public  man  of  Springfield  ?  His  tall  figure  was  made  historic  in 
the  troublous  session  of  1833,  when,  as  speaker  of  the  Massachusetts 
House  of  Representatives,  he  put  the  famous  resolves  condemning 
nullification,  in  which  it  was  declared  that  the  "  right  claimed  by  the 
convention  of  South  Carolina  for  that  State  of  annulling  any  law  of 
the  United  States  which  it  may  deem  unconstitutional,  is  unau- 
thorized b}^  the  letter  or  spirit  of  the  Constitution  ;  "  and  there  was 
quite  as  much  impressiveness  in  his  movements  when,  as  selectman 
of  the  village,  he  apportioned  a  dollar  here  and  a  dollar  there  for 
the  poor  of  the  community. 

The  Springfield  Temperance  Society  was  making  fair  progress  in 
its  crusade.  Its  membership  in  1834,  after  a  three  years'  existence, 
was  two  thousand  five  hundred.  The  town  population  was  six 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-four,  leaving  four  thousand 
two  hundred  and  eighty-four  for  the  society  to  labor  with.  Dm-- 
ing  the  year  previous  eleven  thousand  five  hundred  gallons  of 
rum  alone  was  sold  in  Springfi^,  one-half  of  which,  it  was  estimated, 
was   consumed  here.      Bl  Fuller ^  Jr.,  proprietor  of    the   Springfield 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  4:27 

House,  announced,  in  1834,  that  he  had  discontmued  the  sale  of 
ardent  spirits.  The  house  was  "genteelly  furnished "  and  "free 
from  the  noise  and  bustle  incident  to  a  stage-house,"  We  might 
also  here  mention  that  in  1835  one  thousand  six  hundred  legal 
voters  petitioned  the  county  commissioners  to  refuse  liquor  licenses. 
K.  A.  Chapman  presented  it  in  a  speech,  and  George  Ashmun  opposed 
it.  The  commissioners  refused  the  petition.  At  the  May  elections 
the  temperance  issue  was  fought  over,  and  James  W.  Crooks,  G. 
Stiles,  of  Southwick,  C.  Knox,  of  Palmer,  L.  Bagg,  of  West  Spring- 
field, and  L.  AYright,  of  Westfield,  were  elected.  They  granted 
licenses  freely.  The  venerable  and  much-honored  ex-Lieutenaut- 
Governor  Trask,  who  enjo^'S  nothing  better  than  to  pass  a  genial 
afternoon  talking  about  b^^gone  days,  says  that  Mr.  Chapman's  law 
partner  signed  the  temperance  pledge  in  1840,  and  made  one  of  the 
most  eloquent  temperance  addresses  he  ever  heard. 

The  Elliot-Buckland  murder  trial,  in  September,  1834,  excited  the 
interest  not  only  of  the  town,  but  the  whole  countr}^  round.  Moses 
Elliot,  the  accused,  was  a  lad  of  twelve,  and  Josiah  Buckland,  his 
victim,  was  but  a  year  older.  These  boys  had  made  up  their  minds 
to  run  away,  and  on  a  Saturday  in  April,  1834,  had  repaired  to  a 
hop-pole  house  on  the  Rice  farm,  on  the  Wilbraham  road,  to  divide 
their  clothing  and  to  make  some  preparations  for  their  journey.  The 
upsliot  was  that  in  the  middle  of  the  da}^  Elliot  fled  home,  and  was 
subsequently  seen  going  in  the  direction  of  the  hop-house  with  a 
spade,  presumedly  to  bur}'  the  dead.  No  boy  so  young  had  ever 
been  tried  for  murder  in  the  Commonwealth,  and  the  greatest  excite- 
ment prevailed  when  Chief-Justice  Shaw  and  Judges  Wilde  and 
Putnam  opened  the  extra  session  in  the  autumn  of  that  year.  Attor- 
ney-General Austin  and  District  Attorney  Dewey  presented  the  case 
for  the  State,  and  Judge  Morris  was  assisted  by  the  brilliant  and 
eloquent  George  Ashmun.  People  neglected  their  business  in  order 
to  hear  the  evidence.  The  Elliot  boy's  name  for  mischief -making 
confirmed  the  popular  belief  in  his  guilt,  and  Judge  ]Morris  was  set  to 


428  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6. 

confront  a  desperately  strong  tide  of  circumstances.  His  plea  was 
over  two  hours  long.  The  old  court-house  (Odd  Fellows'  building) 
was  packed  to  the  doors  ;  crowds  hung  about  the  building,  and  coun- 
try teams  were  standing  in  all  the  approaches  to  the  Springfield 
hall  of  justice.  Hundreds  had  driven  into  the  village  many  miles  to 
hear  Morris's  defence.  The  lawyer  had  first  to  sweep  aside  prejudice 
and  a  popular  feeling  of  guilt,  and  then  to  offer  explanations  of  the 
stern  facts  of  blood,  death,  and  of  the  secretive  acts  of  Elliot. 
Morris  had  a  rotund,  sweeping,  and  impetuous  style  of  oratory.  His 
powerful  arms  would  sweep  through  the  air,  and  he  would  pose,  or 
stamp  his  foot,  or  stride  to  and  fro  before  the  twelve  jurymen,  as  was 
the  wont  of  the  profession  half  a  century  ago.  The  court-room  had 
been  gradually  drawn  to  the  prisoner's  side,  and  under  the  skilful 
handling  of  Morris  the  jur}",  too,  were  affected ;  and  when  the  lawyer 
sat  down  women  were  in  tears,  and  the  whole  body  of  listeners  deeply 
moved.  The  jury  acquitted  Elliot  after  an  absence  of  two  hours,  and 
a  memorable  scene  of  relief  and  congratulation  followed. 

Another  graphic  scene,  but  of  a  far  different  nature,  occurred  in 
August,  1832,  when  about  one  hundred  revolutionary  soldiers  of  the 
county  assembled  at  the  Probate  Court  to  prove  their  pension  claims 
under  a  new  act,  and  the  circumstance  gave  rise  to  a  patriotic  demon- 
stration. The  portrait  of  George  Washington,  copied  from  the  Gilbert 
Stewart  painting  at  Hartford,  by  Mr.  Elwell,  then  growing  in  popu- 
larity, was  hung  in  the  court-room,  and  one  veteran  said,  with  tears  in 
his  eyes,  "Oh,  yes,  it  looks  like  the  old  General."  This  venerable 
company,  after  the  legal  formalities,  took  their  slow  march  to  the 
Hampden  Coffee-house  in  a  pouring  rain.  A  fine  dinner  was  laid  for 
them,  and  Judge  Morris  spoke,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Knapp,  of  Westfield, 
pronounced  a  blessing.  Mr.  ElwelFs  portrait  of  Washington  now 
hangs  in  the  Common  Council  room  in  this  city,  and  serves  to  per- 
petuate the  name  of  the  artist  whom  so  many  in  this  region  honored 
and  loved. 

George  Bliss  came  quite  prominently  into  politics  in  1835,  when  he 


ribvq  |rv 


Revolutionary  Pensioners  at  the  Court-House,  1S32. 


430  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

was  a  member  of  the  State  Senate,  and  upon  the  death  of  Benjamin 
Pickman  he  was  chosen  president  of  that  body.  In  1832  Mr.  Bliss 
had  reported  a  bill  enlarging  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Court  of  Com- 
mon Pleas  in  criminal  cases  and  regulating  the  appointment  and 
duties  of  prosecuting  attorneys.  It  passed  the  House  without  amend- 
ment. The  great  legislative  event  of  the  exciting  year  of  1835  was 
the  consideration  of  the  new  code.  A  large  committee  of  the  Legis- 
lature took  the  voluminous  report  of  the  commissioners  for  the 
revision  of  the  statutes,  and  considered  it  during  the  recess.  Mr. 
Bliss  was  chairman  of  this  committee.  Governor  Davis  had  mean- 
time been  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate,  and  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor Armstrong  wanted  the  section  about  poor  debtors  to  be 
stricken  out,  even  threatening  to  veto  the  whole  bill  if  this  were  not 
done.  Mr.  Bliss  wrote  William  B.  Calhoun  on  the  matter,  and  re- 
ceived this  reply  :  "A  single  provision  is  arra^^ed  against  the  whole 
labor  of  years.  It  is  fashionable  to  assume  responsibility,  but  this 
would  be  a  most  fearful  kind  for  any  individual."  This  reassured 
Mr.  Bliss,  and  the  committee  stood  firm.  Armstrong  finally  signed 
the  bill,  contenting  himself  with  a  protest  against  the  action  of  the 
House  requiring  him  to  approve  the  whole  bill  or  veto  it. 

When  it  was  rumored  in  Springfield  that  Governor  Davis  was  a 
candidate  for  the  United  States  Senate,  Judge  Oliver  B.  Morris 
wrote  Mr.  Bliss  in  a  distressed  state  of  mind.  He  asked  :  "  Are 
there  any  among  the  whig  party  who  are  willing  to  remove  Governor 
Davis  from  his  present  situation,  and  thereby  endanger  the  integrity 
of  the  party  in  the  selection  of  a  successor?  .  ,  .  The  Jackson 
folk  among  us  are  delighted  with  the  idea."  But  their  and  simi- 
lar protests  were  unavailing,  and  Davis's  advancement  to  the  L'nited 
States  Senate  brought  the  adverse  elements  of  the  whig  party  to 
the  surface,  and  Judge  Morris's  fears  were  realized.  A  convention 
of  the  whig  members  of  the  Massachusetts  Legislature  had  nomi- 
nated Mr.  Webster  for  the  presidency  in  January,  1835,  George 
Bliss  being  on  the   counnittee  which   drew  up  the  Webster  appeal  to 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  431 

the  people  of  the  United  States.  Davis  was  elected  to  the  Senate 
in  the  middle  of  February.  On  the  evening  of  the  27th  a  legis- 
lative convention  of  whigs  was  called  on  only  two  or  three  days' 
notice  to  nominate  a  candidate  for  governor.  It  was  not  a  conven- 
tion of  the  party,  but  the  legislative  members  of  the  party ;  and 
when  Senator  Allen,  of  Worcester,  proposed  a  ballot  without  debate, 
George  Bliss  sprang  to  his  feet  and  voiced  the  sentiment  of  western 
Massachusetts  when  he  said,  with  great  earnestness,  "  Sir,  the  mem- 
bers of  this  Legislature  were  not  chosen  with  reference  to  any  object 
of  this  kind.  They  have  no  power  from  the  people  to  act  for  them 
in  this  matter.  .  .  .  The  great  whig  party  of  Massachusetts  is  not 
fairly  represented  in  this  convention.  Gentlemen  will  be  surprised 
when  I  state  the  astounding  fact  that  there  are  at  least  115  towns  in 
the  Commonwealth  which  cannot  be  represented  by  whigs  on  this 
floor.  .  .  .  And  let  me  add,  sir,  there  is  already  in  the  river  coun- 
ties a  great  excitement,  a  strong  feeling  caused  by  the  proceedings 
of  the  last  few  weeks." 

After  the  excitement  was  over,  Mr.  Bliss,  with  others,  were  finally 
convinced,  in  view  of  the  figure  which  the  Massachusetts  whigs 
were  attempting  to  cut  in  national  politics,  that  the  best  thing  to  do 
Avas  to  swing  into  the  Everett  line.  This  decision  w^as  not  reached, 
however,  until  home  influence  had  been  brought  to  bear  upon  the 
president  of  the  Senate,  as  appears  by  this  extract  from  a  private 
letter  sent  Mr.  Bliss  from  Samuel  Bowles,  father  of  the  late  Samuel 
Bowles,  dated  March  5,  1835  :  — 

But  while  we  agree  with  you  in  disapproving  tlie  hasty  and  unfair  manner  of 
the  nomination,  I  am  sorry  to  see  a  few  —  Judge  Morris,  Mr.  Bontecou,  and 
others  —  taking  the  occasion  to  oppose  the  candidate,  and  openly  electioneer  for 
S.  T.  Armstrong  I  .  .  .  The  sentiments  you  may  see  in  my  next  paper  are  in 
accordance  Avith  those  of  Messrs.  Calhoun,  Willard,  and  Ashmun.  If  it  should 
prove  that  Mr.  Everett  is  the  candidate  of  the  majority  (and  I  believe  it  will  so 
j)rove),  we  do  not  think  it  best  to  make  any  unnecessary  distraction  in  the  whig 
party,  because  some  of  oiir  friends,  whose  good  and  patriotic  motives  we  see  no 
reason  to  doubt,  have  nominated  the  risrht  candidate  in  the  wrong  wav. 


-j:32  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

That  one  iwfxy  understand  the  extent  of  men's  feelings,  this  pas- 
sage from  a  letter  from  Oliver  B.  Morris  to  George  Bliss  may  be 
added:  "  Under  present  circumstances,  if  those  who  voted  for  Mr. 
Davis  at  the  last  election  can  be  made  to  vote  for  Mr.  Everett  next 
November,  in  my  judgment  they  will  be  no  longer  worthy  to  be  called 
whigs.  We  have  been  accustomed  to  call,  and  I  think  properly,  the 
followers  of  Van  Buren  '  collar  men,'  and  under  the  control  of  a 
regency.  Now  it  seems  to  me  that  those  who  undertook  to  act  for 
the  whig  party  in  the  nomination  of  Mr.  Everett  usurped  power 
which  the  party  never  conferred  upon  them."  AVilliam  G.  Bates,  of 
Westfield,  wrote  Bliss  as  follows  :  — 

And  first,  I  must  say  how  much  obliged  we  all  are  to  you  for  3'our  stand  at 
the  legislative  caucus.  The  proceeding  is  most  disastrous,  as  respects  to  the 
prospects  of  the  Avhigs,  if  indeed  Ave  are  now  known  by  that  name.  Brother  B. 
is  all  Avrong.  You  knoAv  how  much  is  said  in  our  country  about  Boston  influence, 
and  how  much  more  has  been  said  to  the  Avest  of  us,  and  how  much  we  have 
labored  to  undo  any  such  belief.  But  now  what  can  we  say  to  any  such  charges? 
They  have  not  only,  in  violation  of  all  precedent  and  in  disregard  to  the  late 
practices  of  the  party,  put  an  obnoxious  candidate  before  the  people,  but  they 
have  confederated  Avith  the  Jackson  party  to  uncap  the  commouAvealth  in  order 
to  make  Avay  for  him.  And  for  Avhat  reason?  Why,  ostensibly  to  unite  Avith  the 
anti-]\Iasons  —  as  if  Ave  could  not  do  it  at  any  time  —  by  coming  upon  their  ground 
and  playing  second  to  their  fiddle.  .  .  .  The  Jackson  party  increases  its 
chances  of  electing  their  stereotyped  ticket  —  the  anti-Masons  choose  a  governor 
Avho  believes  that  the  obligations  of  Masonry  destroys  the  allegiance  of  govern- 
ment (Avho  of  course  acting  upon  his  principle  in  relation  to  appointments  is  a 
thorough  anti-^Iason)  and  the  poor  Avhigs  get  notliiiig.      It  Avon't  do  I 

But  Mr.  Bliss  would  not  give  way.  AVliile  admitting  the  irregu- 
larity of  Everett's  nomination,  there  was  never  any  doubt  about  the 
general  desire  among  the  whigs  that  he  should  be  their  candidate. 

Edward  Everett  ran  in  on  a  somewhat  reduced  majority,  but  George 
Bliss  lost  his  seat  in  the  Senate  by  an  adverse  vote,  which  his  bravery 
and  good  judgment  had  by  no  means  merited.     He  had  been  president 


SPRINGFIELD,     1636-1886.  433 

pro  tern,  of  the  Senate  during  Mr.  Piekman's  illness,  anil  upon  his 
election  as  president  a  Boston  paper  had  remarked  that  it  had  been 
said  of  George  Bliss's  father  that  "  nothing  escaped  his  notice  or  ex- 
amination. This  is  true  of  the  son,  —  his  mind  is  extremely  active, 
and  its  acti^^ty  is  more  than  ordinarily  apparent  in  the  variations  of 
his  countenance  and  in  his  whole  air  and  movements.  No  person  of 
observation  can  fail  to  perceive  that  he  is  constantly  intent." 

The  festivities  attending  the  second  centennial  of  the  town's  birth 
began  upon  Tuesday  afternoon,  May  24,  1836,  when  Gov.  Edward 
Everett  and  suite,  Col.  Robert  C.  Winthrop,  General  Dearborn,  and 
other  officials  arrived  at  Springfield  from  Boston  by  the  old  Moseley 
stage  line.  A  cavalcade  of  citizens,  and  as  well  many  in  carriages, 
met  the  party  at  the  Five  Mile  House,  and  conducted  them  to  the 
Hampden  Coffee-house  upon  Court  square.  Charles  Stearns  had  also 
arrived  from  Maine  the  same  day,  bringing  with  him  four  fresh  salmon 
and  trout  caught  nearly  four  hundred  miles  from  Springfield,  he  "  hav- 
ing been  only  forty-three  hours  on  the  way."  John  Howard  opened  his 
residence  in  the  evening,  and  the  citizens  of  Springfield  had  an  oppor- 
tunity to  become  acquainted  with  his  P^xcellency  and  party. 

The  eventful  25th  was  heralded  with  the  firing  of  cannon  and  the 
ringing  of  bells.  The  fire  department,  under  Stephen  C.  Bemis  and 
George  D wight,  assembled  at  an  early  hour  upon  Chestnut  street 
and  proceeded  to  Court  square,  where  it  showed  to  a  large  crowd  what 
the  hand-engine  pumps  could  do  upon  occasion.  The  governor  was 
escorted  to  the  scene  of  the  oratory  by  five  hundred  mechanics,  the 
procession  being  formed  upon  Elm  street.  The  printers  had  provided 
a  hand-press  from  "  The  Springfield  Republican"  office,  and  as  they 
moved  along  they  worked  off  an  edition  and  distributed  copies  to  the 
people.  The  mechanics  of  the  armory  followed  with  a  banner,  then 
the  carpenters  and  workers  in  wood,  then  machinists,  shoemakers,  and 
so  on  through  the  list  of  trades.  The  hardware  mechanics  from  Wil- 
limansett  were  conspicuous  in  the  line.  The  military  escort  included 
the  Springfield  Light  Infantry,  the  Springfield  Artillery  Company,  the 


434  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

West  Springfield  Grays,  aud  an  independent  company  from  East 
Longmeadow,  which  latter  were  noticeable  by  having  two  men  at 
their  head  in  Indian  costume.  The  mechanics  marched  through 
several  streets  before  they  halted  at  the  Hampden  Coffee-house,  and 
were  there  joined  by  the  governor  and  staff,  officers  of  the  day,  and 
soldier3\  Tlie}"  proceeded  at  once  to  the  First  Parisli  meeting-house, 
whose  capacity  was  sorely  taxed  with  as  brave  a  throng  as  ever 
gathered  there.  Judge  Morris's  address  took  two  hours  in  its  delivery, 
and  is  quite  familiar  to  the  people  of  this  generation  and  to  library 
frequenters,  and  has  been  much  used  abroad  as  the  basis  of  historical 
articles  upon  the  early  history  of  this  town.  After  the  exercises  in 
the  meeting-house,  the  guests  and  the  officers  of  the  day  were  es- 
corted to  the  town-hall  on  State  street ;  George  Bliss  was  president 
of  the  day,  and  John  Howard,  Justice  AVillard,  Charles  Stearns, 
James  AV.  Crooks,  George  Aslimun,  Charles  Howard,  and  George 
Bancroft  were  vice-presidents.  Tables,  provided  for  nearly  four 
hundred  guests,  were  furnished  by  Mr.  Bishop,  of  the  Springfield 
Hotel.  Governor  Everett,  George  Bancroft,  and  other  distinguished 
gentlemen  ''  occupied  the  circular  seats  around  the  iDresident."  The 
galleries  were  filled  with  soldiery,  but  its  interest  to  us  centres  in  the 
toasts  and  speeches, 

Edward  P^verett  added  the  elegance  of  his  diction  when  he  spoke  to 
propose  the  toast,  "  The  fathers  of  New  P^nglaud  —  their  faults  were 
the  faults  of  the  age  ;  their  piety,  courage,  and  i)erseverance  were 
their  own.  Time,  which  destroys  all  things,  will  strengthen  their 
work  and  honor  their  memory." 

Mr.  Bliss  had  noted  in  his  remarks  that  Richard  Everett,  one  of 
the  early  settlers  of  Springfield,  was  a  relative  of  Governor  Everett. 
His  Excellency  expressed  his  surprise  and  gratification,  and  then  took 
up  the  weighter  matters  of  the  hour,  in  the  following  manner :  — 

I  regard  such  a  celebration  as  a  noble  day  of  recompense  for  the  tribulations 
of  other  times.  Would  not  "William  Pynchon,  sir,  on  the  very  day  Avhen  his 
book,  written  with  the  heavy  rebuke  of  the  fathers  of  church  and  state,  was  igno- 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  435 


niiniously  burned  on  Boston  Common,  liaA^e  felt  his  heart  cheered  and  his 
spirit  soothed,  even  under  the  infliction  of  that  burning  stigma,  could  he  have 
foreseen  that  Avhen  near  two  centuries  should  have  jmssed,  on  an  occasion  like 
this,  amidst  thousands  of  an  admiring  posterity,  his  name  would  be  repeated  with 
respect,  gratitude,  and  veneration,  as  the  great  founder  of  what  Ave  behold  around 
us?  Could  I  hope,  sir.  that  after  the  laj)se  of  200  years,  my  humble  name  would 
be  remembered  with  kind  feelings  of  those  who  shall  come  after  us,  as  one  avIio 
had  sought  to  promote  the  public  good,  I  should  deem  any  labor,  care,  and  sacrifice 
as  cheaply  encountered  for  such  a  recomi)ense.  If  to  the  moral  interest  of  the 
festival  which  has  called  us  together  you  add  the  attractions  of  nature  at  this 
pleasant  season  of  the  year,  and  in  this  beautiful  region,  you  will  not  wonder, 
sir,  at  our  readiness  to  leave  the  noisy  streets  and  smoky  atmosphere  of  the  city 
for  a  visit  to  the  banks  of  this  most  lovely  river.  A  poetical  Avriter,  a  native  of 
our  sister  State  which  Ijears  the  name  of  the  Connecticut,  has  exclaimed  in  the 
most  beautiful  lines  of  a  long  work  — 

"  Thy  parent  stream,  fair  Hartford,  met  his  eye, 
Far  lessening  upward  to  the  northern  sky ; 
No  watery  gleams  through  happier  valleys  shine, 
Nor  drinks  the  sea  a  lovelier  Avave  than  thine."' 


Man}^  speeches  were  delivered  upon  this  occasion.  Charles  Stearns 
drove  a  nail  into  this  thesis  upon  the  wall  of  an  ancient  town's  his- 
tory in  saying,  ''The  interlopers  will  endeavor  to  leave  old  Spring- 
field in  as  good  condition  as  they  found  it."  George  Bancroft,  the 
future  historian,  chose  as  his  toast  the  noted  Capt.  Samuel  Holyoke, 
"  the  hero  and  the  martyr  of  the  Falls  fight.  His  memory  shall  be 
cherished  till  the  cataract  of  the  Connecticut  ceases  to  roar  ;  his  fame 
shall  stand  as  imperishable  as  the  mountain  that  bears  his  name." 
A  toast  was  proposed  to  the  county  of  Berkshire  (a  part  of  the 
original  county  of  Hampshire ) ,  which  was  hailed  ' '  not  as  a 
colony,  but  as  an  independent  and  sister  county.  May  our  union  be 
still  more  strongly  connected  by  the  increasing  enterprise  and  public 
spirit  of  the  inhabitants  of  both  counties."  This  was  a  fitting  intro- 
duction to  the  toast  of  Col.  Robert  C.  Winthrop,  a  descendant  of 
John  Hampden,  whom  he  extolled,  and  said,  "  A  noble  name,  and 


436  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

worthily  bestowed  upon  the  count}^  which  bears  it.'*  Julius  Rock- 
well turned  the  attention  of  the  table  to  the  future  b}^  referring  to 
the  commercial  enterprises  that  were  absorbing  public  attention  at 
that  time,  dwelling  upon  the  benefit  to  be  derived  from  the  AYestern 
railroad,  the  route  of  which  was  then  being  surveyed.  John  Howard 
proposed  as  a  toast,  "  Modern  antiquarians  ;  "  Justice  Willard  ''  The 
land  of  our  home  and  the  home  of  our  fathers ;  "  George  Ashmun, 
"  School-houses  ;  "  Major  Inches,  of  the  Boston  Independent  Cadets, 
"The  orator  of  the  day;"  S.  O.  Russell,  "The  history  of  the 
settlement  of  Springfield;"  and  E.  D.  Beach,  "The  Springfield 
Light  Infantry." 

Many  letters  from  prominent  men  were  read  after  the  speaking. 
John  Quincy  Adams  wrote  from  AVashington  proposing  the  senti- 
ment, "  The  Puritan  principles  purified  by  the  school  of  time,  still 
improving  from  age  to  age,  the  physical  culture  of  the  Western 
hemisphere  and  the  moral  culture  of  the  human  mind."  Daniel  Web- 
ster took  occasion  to  write:  "Two  centuries  have  made  a  great 
town  out  of  a  handful  of  settlers,  and  the  present  prospect  is  that  its 
future  history  is  to  be  marked  by  a  still  more  rapid  degree  of  growth 
and  improvement.  .  .  .  Long  may  education  and  knowledge, 
sobriet}^,  morality,  and  religion  characterize  their  enjoyment  under 
the  blessings  of  Providence."  Alden  Bradford,  the  president  of  the 
Pilgrim  Society  at  Boston,  paid  a  high  tribute  to  William  Pynchon, 
saying  that,  while  he  had  the  misfortune  to  differ  with  his  associates 
upon  matters  of  dogmatic  theology,  his  "  probity,  piety,  and  learning 
were  never  doubted."  Mr.  Bradford  proposed  this  toast:  "Perpe- 
tuity to  the  essential  principles  of  the  Puritans,  —  a  preeminent 
regard  for  the  authority  of  God  and  for  the  rights  of  men."  Let- 
ters were  also  read  from  Levi  Lincoln,  Judge  Story,  W.  B.  Calhoun, 
Thomas  L.  Winthrop,  and  others. 

Li  the  evening  a  reception  at  the  elegant  residence  of  George  Bliss 
and  a  concert  by  the  Springfield  Musical  Society  made  their  bids  for 
the  local  public.     The  occasion  softened  the  rigors  of  political  rivahy, 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  437 

iiud  Oliver  B.  Morris,  Edward  Everett,  tind  George  Bliss  friiternized 
with  perfect  cordiality. 

But  the  Don-partisau  spirit  of  anniversaries  soon  departed.  The 
Fourth  was  coming,  and  Mr.  Beach  announced  in  his  paper  that  the 
celebration  was  not  to  be  on  the  hill,  but  Factor}'  Village.  Cabotville 
was  aroused,  and  protested,  and  some  one,  signing  as  "  Skipmuck," 
remarked,  "There  are  some  very  important  characters  at  Cabot- 
ville who  want  to  control  everything  ;  but  they  will  not  prevent  us  at 
Chicopee  Factory  from  doing  as  we  please."  Another  disquieting 
rumor  was  that  the  pure  democracy  was  preparing  for  a  celebration 
on  the  hill,  and  that  George  Bancroft  had  engaged  to  deliver  the 
oration.  So  it  proved.  But  the  "  union  celebration,"  as  it  was 
called,  came  off  at  Chicopee  Factor}^,  and  was  an  immense  success. 
A  procession,  under  Colonel  Nettleton,  formed  at  the  Adams  House 
and  marched  to  the  meeting-house.  "The  operation  of  the  mills 
being  suspended,"  says  the  ancient  chronicler,  "  the  doors  and  win- 
dows of  the  boarding-houses  were  filled  with  bright  eyes  and  smiling 
faces.  What  a  sight  for  a  bachelor  I  Nearly  in  front  of  the  meet- 
ing-house the  national  flag,  in  right  good  taste,  waved  on  the  top  of 
an  aged  white  oak."  Rev.  Dorus  Clark  Avas  chaplain,  and  Myron 
Lawrence  orator.  S.  Shackford  presided  at  the  banquet  at  the  hotel 
that  followed,  and  speeches  were  made  by  AVells  Southworth,  J. 
Johnson,  K.  Edwards,  J.  C.  Bemis,  George  W.  Culver,  Elihu  Adams, 
Charles  Stearns,  Samuel  Bowles,  J.  M.  Colton,  and  others. 

George  Bancroft's  Fourtli  of  July  oration  on  the  hill  to  the  Spring- 
field democrats  made  quite  a  stir  at  the  time.  "  Whiggism,  the  party 
of  vested  rights  !  "  he  exclaimed  ;  "it  perpetuates  established  wrong 
on  the  plea  of  vested  rights."  The  whig,  he  maintained,  "  pants  for 
monopoly."  The  curious  thing  about  this  was  that  at  this  time  the 
whigs  had  nominated  Webster,  who  was  not  rich,  and  had  sent  to  Con- 
gress Mr.  Calhoun,  who  had  been  offensively  called  a  pauper ;  while 
the  democrats  had  put  up  wealthy  men  all  down  the  ticket,  including 
the  Hampden  senators.     A  very  amusing  contest  followed,  in  which 


438  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1 88  6. 

rich  and  poor,  whig  aud  Jacksonian,  were  very  much  mixed  up.  It 
was  made  none  the  less  diverting  when  Bancroft,  the  "  white  kid- 
glove  and  silk-stocking  democrat "  was  nominated  against  Calhoun 
for  Congress. 

Mr.  Bancroft  had  been  a  whig  Init  two  3"ears  before.  He  was 
what  was  known  as  a  Jackson  federalist.  Not  the  least  inter- 
esting phase  of  this  canvass  was  the  (U'agging  in  of  Mr.  Bancroft's 
connection  with  the  Masons.  It  will  be  remembered  that  an  anti- 
Masonic  convention  was  held  at  Warriner's  tavern  on  the  evening  of 
October  14,  1834.  A  resolution  was  proposed  commending  Mr. 
Bancroft  for  a  letter  written  by  him  to  some  Northampton  voters,  and 
asking  him  to  take  a  seat  in  the  convention  and  become  its  candidate 
for  Congress.  Seth  Flagg,  the  chairman,  came  to  the  front  in  that 
canvass  of  1836  in  explanation  thereof.  He  claimed  Mr.  Bancroft 
had  approached  him  before  the  convention  met  with  resolutions 
favoring  his  own  nomination  for  Congress  ;  that  Mr.  Bancroft  was 
invited  to  take  a  seat ;  that  he  (Flagg)  presented  the  resolutions  as 
requested ;  that  Mr.  Bancroft  read  amusing  extracts  from  a  book  on 
Free  INIasonry,  and  then  withdrew  ;  that  the  next  day  Mr.  Bancroft 
complained  to  him  (Flagg)  that  he  had  been  accused  of  looking  into 
the  windows  of  the  Warriner  tavern  Avhile  the  convention  was  in 
session,  and  demanded  of  Flagg  a  paper  to  the  effect  that  this  was 
not  true,  which  he  secured  ;  that  he  returned  shortly  with  another 
stronger  paper  for  Flagg  to  sign,  stating  that  the  convention  had 
asked  Bancroft  to  sit  in  the  convention,  had  recommended  him  as 
congressional  candidate,  and  then  reconsidered  this  action ;  that 
Flagg  signed  this  paper  with  the  understanding  that  it  was  not  to  be 
circulated  publicly.  Mr.  Flagg  claimed  that  in  spite  of  this  state- 
ment, over  his  own  signature,  the  resolutions  recommending  Bancroft 
as  a  candidate  were  not  passed,  but  simply  presented  and  laid  on  the 
table.  Here  Avas  a  pretty  complication,  and  caused  no  end  of  crimi- 
nation and  recrimination  then.  Mr.  Bancroft  certainly  had  the 
written    statement   of  the   chairman  of    the  convention  that  he  was 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1S86.  439 


nominated.  But  he  did  not  secure  the  support  of  the  anti-Masons 
sufficient  to  elect  him  in  1836.  The  vote  stood  :  Calhoun,  3,958  ; 
Bancroft,  2,878.  Bancroft,  however,  polled  about  four  hundred  more 
votes  in  the  district  than  Warner,  democrat,  did  in  1834. 

George  Ashmun  was  a  member  of  the  Whig  State  Central  Com- 
mittee of  1835,  when  Webster  had  been  put  up  for  President.  In 
1837  George  Ashmun  and  Reuben  Boies,  Jr.,  were  whig  nominees  for 
the  State  Senate.  The  Loco  Foco  Van  Buren  convention  at  West 
Springfield  nominated  George  Bancroft  and  Lucius  Wright,  of  West- 
field.  Hampden  county  had  gone  tory  the  year  before,  but  Ashmun 
and  Boies  turned  the  vote  to  the  whig  column  with  a  majority  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  The  representatives  in  1837  were  Daniel  W.  Wil- 
lard,  Alpheus  Nettleton,  Josiali  Hooker,  William  Dwight,  Samuel  H. 
Stebbins,  and  Luke  Bemis,  Jr.,  all  wliigs.  It  was  a  bad  year  for 
Loco  Focoism  in  western  Massachusetts.  Immediately  after  the  elec- 
tion John  Mills  was  offered  the  collectorship  of  the  port  of  Boston,  so 
it  was  understood  l:)y  his  friends  ;  but  he  declined,  and  George  Ban- 
croft was  appointed.  When  George  Ashmun  was  renominated  for 
the  Senate,  in  the  fall  of  1838,  Charles  Stearns,  Elijah  Blake,  and 
Samuel  Bowles  called  his  attention  to  the  report  that  democrats  were 
supporting  him  in  consequence  of  a  pledge  that  he  would  advocate 
the  repeal  of  the  fifteen-gallon  law.  Ashmun  responded  as  follows  : 
"  I  am  bound  to  no  man  or  body  of  men  on  that  or  any  other  sub- 
ject. The  whole  system  of  pledges  I  regard  as  odious  and  at  war 
with  the  true  principles  of  republican  representation."  This  was 
considered  satisfactory. 

The  election  was  a  draw,  and  was  thus  thrown  into  the  Legislature, 
which  had  no  trouble  in  choosing  Ashmun  and  Boies.  When  the 
fifteen-gallon  law  came  up  in  the  Legislature  in  1839  in  the  shape  of 
a  bill  to  regulate  the  sale  of  spirituous  liquors,  George  Bliss  made  a 
telling  attack  upon  it.  The  fifteen-gallon  law  made  no  end  of  trou- 
ble. In  June,  1839,  Elisha  Edwards  was  arrested  for  violating  the 
fifteen-gallon  law  by  selling  liquor  to  an  employe  of  Charles  Stearns, 


V 


440  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

ou  the  latter's  order,  and  a  troublesome  prosecution  followed.  The 
liquor  issue  was  a  prominent  factor  in  the  caucus  of  1839,  when 
Everett  and  Morton  were  pitted  against  each  other  once  more,  the 
former  being  defeated  by  one  vote  ;  and  the  first  important  step  of  the 
new  Legislature  was  to  repeal  the  obnoxious  fifteen-gallon  law. 
Marcus  Morton  was  the  father  of  Judge  Morton  of  this  cit}^ 

An  incident  of  the  Morton  election  is  preserved  b}'  an  odd  com- 
munication of  that  day,  headed:  "  The  Complaint  of  the  town  clock 
to  the  Parish  committee  of  the  First  Society  m  Springfield."  This 
chronometer  said :  '•  Marcus  Morton  would  not  have  been  governor 
but  for  me.  On  the  day  of  the  election  in  November  last  I  was  10 
minutes  too  fast.  The  polls  were  to  be  closed  at  half -past  four.  A 
good  whig  in  the  upper  part  of  the  town  who  was  chary  of  his  time 
calculated  that  he  could  leave  home  at  four  o'clock  and  be  at  the  town- 
hall  in  time  to  vote.  His  calculations  were  right.  He  left  home  ex- 
actly at  four  o'clock,  but  he  was  too  late.  The  polls  w^re  closed  by 
my  time  ;  his  vote  was  lost,  and  Morton  was  governor  by  one  vote." 

The  temperance  issue  made  trouble  for  the  wliigs  also  in  the  Legis- 
lature. The  delegates  of  1838  were  George  Bliss,  Orange  Cliapin, 
William  Childs,  Elijah  Blake,  S^dvester  Taylor,  and  Charles  McClallen, 
all  whigs.  There  was  no  choice  in  the  election  of  1839,  and  a 
second  ballot  was  equally  unsuccessful.  This  was  because  there  was 
a  union  temperance  ticket  in  the  field,  made  up  of  three  Loco  Focos 
and  three  whigs.  Springfield  thus  was  not  represented  in  the  Legis- 
lature. The  Hampden  whigs  were  greatly  irritated  by  these  events, 
and  the  Whig  Republican  Association  of  Springfield  was  organized 
early  in  the  year  1840,  with  these  officers  :  President,  George  Ash- 
mun  ;  recording  secretary,  William  Stowe  ;  corresponding  secretary, 
Henry  Seymour ;  treasurer,  George  Dwight ;  executive  committee, 
Elijah  Blake,  Luke  Bemis,  Jr.,  Edward  O.  Morris,  Elihu  Adams^ 
Francis  31.  Carew,  and  Otis  Skeele.  The  23residential  election  Avas 
now  coming  on,  and  the  old-liners  gathered  at  Springfield,  Feb.  19, 
1810,    to   give    the    wliig    nominee    for    President,  William   Henrv 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  441 

Harrison,  a  good  send  off.  George  Ashmun  was  made  president, 
and  Henry  Seymour,  of  Springfield,  secretary.  vSpeeches  were  made 
by  Isaac  C.  Bates,  P^mory  AVasliburn,  of  Worcester,  Judge  O.  B. 
Morris,  William  Stowe,  and  others.  Ai)ril,  1840,  the  famous  cam- 
paign of  "  Tippecanoe  and  Tyler  too"  was  now  under  way,  with  all 
its  picturesque  features. 

One  day  some  Longmeadow  boys  rigged  up  a  log  cabin  and  made 
a  call  on  "Uncle  Jere's,"  the  cabin  being  drawn  by  six  horses.  A 
fifteen-gallon  keg  served  as  a  chimney.  The  hard-cider  candidate 
was  well  toasted.  The  year  was  full  of  excitement,  and  the  demo- 
crats were  also  ripe  for  the  fray.  There  was  a  grand  Harrison  demon- 
stration in  Springfield,  October  0,  1840.  William  B.  Calhoun  had  just 
been  nominated  for  Congress.  On  the  evening  of  the  8tli  the  town- 
hall  was  occupied  by  the  whigs.  A  triumphal  arch  spanned  Main 
street,  near  the  Chicopee  Bank,  put  up  l)y  the  merchants  of  "  Fountain 
row."  Earl 3^  Friday  morning  a  cavalcade  with  a  band  rode  in  from 
Monson,  and  some  Avagons  and  horsemen  poured  in  from  Wilbraham, 
Ludlow,  Longmeadow,  Northampton,  West  Springfield,  Granby, 
Belchertown,  and  dozens  of  places.  The  Westfield  delegation  to  the 
convention  came  in  a  huge  wagon  drawn  l)y  twelve  horses,  and  "  Old 
Tip's  Buggy "  inscribed  on  its  banners.  Over  half-a-dozen  bands 
were  tuning  up  the  party  patriotism.  Capt.  George  Dwight  formed 
the  procession  at  ten  o'clock,  assisted  l)y  H.  Seymour,  AVilliam  M. 
Town,  C.  A.  Mann,  R.  Shurtleff',  and  others.  Revolutionary  soldiers 
were  at  the  head,  and  the  column,  six  deep,  proceeded  to  Worthiug- 
ton  grove,  where  that  inspiring  leader  of  men,  George  Ashmun, 
called  the  assemblage  to  order,  and  Oliver  B.  Morris  was  made  presi- 
dent. All  the  afternoon  was  spent  in  speech-making  and  singing  whig- 
songs.  The  American  eagle,  in  all  sizes  and  conditions,  perched  on 
the  decorated  floats  about  the  grove  ;  whig  mottoes  floated  in  the 
breeze  on  familiar  terms  with  the  stars  and  stripes,  broken  democratic 
arches  lay  in  ruins,  and  lampoons  furnished  food  for  the  merry. 
Stuffed  roosters  stood  proudly  upon  log  cabins,  and  General  Harrison 


442  SPRINGFIELD,     1G3G~1SS6. 

was  toasted  in  driukiiiii-booths  on  the  edges  of  the  grove.  It  was  a 
great  day,  and  there  were  many  great  days  before  that  canvass  was 
over.  Harrison  won,  and  the  whigs  had  their  short  day  and  deep 
mourning  for  the  death  of  their  standard-bearer. 

Back  of  all  this  political  commotion  loomed  the  grim  question  of 
slavery,  and  the  fine  art  of  public  life  of  that  day  lay  in  retiring  the 
spectre  of  human  bondage  to  the  background.  AVilliam  B.  Calhoun 
had  been  charged  with  forcing  the  issue  by  charging  radical  abolition 
upon  Harrison.  This  was  done  to  alienate  the  Southern  whigs  ;  but 
Calhoun  denounced  the  attempt  in  phrases  very  spirited  for  him. 
Early  in  1836  some  Hampshire  men,  in  session  at  Amherst,  had  pro- 
posed an  anti-slavery  convention,  to  be  lieid  at  Northampton,  —  a  move 
that  created  much  uneasiness.  There  was  an  anti-slavery  prayer- 
meeting  in  Springfield  on  the  evening  of  the  Fourth,  1837,,  when  the 
air  was  dismal  with  fire-crackers,  and  the  first  annual  meeting  of  the 
Hampden  County  Anti-Slavery  Society  was  held  in  January,  1838,  at 
Dr.  Osgood's  church.  The  officers  elected  were :  President,  Abel 
Bliss  ;  vice-presidents,  Rev.  S.  Osgood,  Rev.  J.  A.  Morrill,  and  Rev. 
H.  Smith :  secretar^^,  Chaunce}"  Chapin  ;  treasurer,  Edwin  Booth ; 
directors,  E.  Chapin,  Luther  Bliss,  Dr.  Jefferson  Church,  Dr.  J. 
Bassett,  and  Noah  Merrick.  Slavery  was  denounced  as  a  national 
sin.  Judge  Morris  made  a  memorable  speech,  the  house  being 
packed.  Morris  was  not  identified  with  any  abolition  society,  which 
fact  heightened  the  effect  of  his  eloquence.  Dr.  Osgood  and  Dr. 
Ralph  P^mersou,  of  Andover  Theological  Seminary,  were  drawn  into 
a  fierce  discussion  over  slavery.  In  one  letter  Dr.  Osgood  said : 
"  But  I  ask,  in  what  light  ought  Christians  to  regard  that  universal 
system  of  concubinage  which  is  practised  by  the  blacks  themselves  in 
all  the  slave  States?  The  slave  laws  do  not  recognize  the  marriage 
institution.  The  master  lias  the  power  to  dissolve  it  at  pleasure,  and 
either  of  the  parties  cohabiting  together  may  break  off  their  connec- 
tion at  will,  and  do  so  in  multitudes  of  cases." 

Chauncey  Chapin  at  tliis  time  took  occasion  to  draw  out  Mr.  Cal- 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-lSSG.  443 

houn's  opinion  on  slavery.  The  latter  was  again  a  candidate  for 
Congress.  He  answered  by  calling  attention  to  the  fact  that  his  vote 
against  the  admission  of  Arkansas  upon  the  ground  that  slavery  was 
recognized  in  its  constitution  was  sufficient  to  indicate  where  he 
stood.  He  added:  ••  I  look  upon  this  infernal  traffic  as  but  a  slight 
remove  from  the  foreign  slave-trade  now  so  abhorrent  to  all.  It  is 
the  grand  means  of  perpetuating  slaver}^  ...  I  found  no  difficulty  in 
arriving  at  the  conclusion  that  Congress,  within  its  appropriate  sphere, 
ought  at  once  to  adopt  such  measures  of  judicious  and  efficient  legis- 
lation as  shall  bring  this  great  moral,  social,  and  political  e\il,  in  all 
its  forms,  as  speedil}-  as  possible  to  an  end."  Mr.  Garrison  did  not 
receive  Dr.  Osgood's  support  in  his  radical  notions  of  forming  a  po- 
litical party  at  that  time,  and  Garrison  denounced  Osgood  in  his 
paper  in  unmeasured  terms. 

It  was  of  course  to  be  expected  that  between  the  enterprise  of  the 
stage  men,  the  boating  men,  and  the  railroad  men,  that  the  town 
would  grow  apace.  In  1834  the  population  was  6,784.  By  1837 
Springfield  was  the  sixth  town  in  population  in  the  State,  and  the 
third  in  the  valuation  of  its  manufactures.  Here  are  some  figures  : 
Population,  0,234;  public  schools,  20;  winter  scholars,  1,617;  aver- 
age winter  attendance,  1,398;  teachers  (winter),  14  males  and  16 
females,  (summer),  4  males  and  26  females;  academies  and  private 
schools,  4,  with  168  scholars;  cotton-mills,  7,  with  $1,400,000  in- 
vested ;  wool  produced,  4,500  pounds  ;  value  of  boots  manufactured, 
810.000  ;  tanneries,  3,  with  $8,000  capital ;  hat  factories,  2  ;  paper- 
mills,  4,  with  $120,000  capital;  furnaces,  3,  with  $35,000  capital; 
cutlery,  1,  with  $20,000  capital;  cabinet  and  chair  factories,  6,  with 
$16,000  capital ;  plough  manufactories,  2  :  tinware  factories,  4  ;  steam- 
boats built  during  year,  5,  valued  at  $18,000.  There  were  also  manu- 
factured 814,000  worth  of  muskets  at  the  armory.  An  indication  of 
over-production  was  noticed  in  1837,  wlien  many  hands  were  dis- 
charged at  Chicopee  and  Cabotville.  By  1840.  2,558  persons  were 
engaged  in  Springfield  manufacturing. 


444  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  manufacturers,  farmers,  and  merchants  of  the 
town,  held  in  the  town-hall,  May  18,  1832,  Justice  Willard  in  the  chair, 
and  Stephen  C.  Bemis  secretary,  resolutions  favoring  a  continuation 
of  a  protective  tariff  were  passed.  Another  meeting  at  AVarriner's 
Inn,  May  31,  with  the  landlord  in  the  chair,  and  Samuel  Bowles 
secretary,  passed  resolutions  against  pedlers,  as  it  was  considered 
"  fraught  with  injurious  consequences  to  the  regular  business  of  the 
community  and  tends  to  the  encouragement  of  bad  habits  and  impo- 
sition." The  committee  to  suppress  this  practice  consisted  of  James 
Brewer,  James  Wells,  A.  G.  Tannatt,  Francis  M.  Carew,  and  Stephen 
0.  Russell. 

Springfield  was  not  wanting  in  newspapers  at  this  time.  The 
^  "  Republican  "  was  a  great  success  as  a  stanch  anti-Jackson  sheet. 
It  absorbed  the  "  Hampden  Journal,"  started  in  1807  by  Thomas 
Dickman.  The  "Hampden  Whig"  was  started  in  February, 
1830,  by  John  B.  Eldredge,  who  sold  out  to  E.  D.  Beach,  in 
1835.  The  "  Springfield  Gazette"  was  started  in  September,  1831, 
with  G.  AY.  Callender,  Henry  Kirkham,  and  Lewis  Briggs,  proprie- 
tors. William  Hyde  was  editor.  In  1832  Callender  and  Kirkham 
withdrew,  and  the  "Gazette"  was  published  by  Mr.  Briggs  and 
Josiah  Hooker,  the  latter  being  editor  as  well.  The  "  Hampden  In- 
telligencer "  had  started  up  in  1831  as  an  anti-Masonic  paper,  but  was 
short-lived.  In  1840  Mr.  Beach,  then  editor  of  the  "  Hampden 
Post,"  was  nominated  b}^  the  Loco  Foco  party  as  count}^  treasurer,  but 
was  defeated.  In  1840  AVilliam  Stowe  became  editor  of  the  "  Spring- 
field Gazette." 

Dr.  Joshua  Frost  was  buried  from  Air.  Peabody's  church  in  April, 
1832.  He  was  a  man  of  fine  education  and  admirable  character. 
He  Avas  a  model  village  inan,  being  always  present  at  town-meetings, 
and  ready  to  bear  his  share  of  public  liurdens.  Dr.  Frost  gradu- 
ated at  Harvard,  and  was  State  senator  in  1S2G.  He  was  sixt3^-five 
when  he  died.  The  year  following  (August  25,  1833)  Col.  Roswell 
Lee  passed  away,  and  with   him  a  prominent  actor  in  local  affairs. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  445 


He  rivalled  George  Aslimim  as  a  guest  or  host,  aud  had  sat  at  the 
head  of  many  banquet  tables,  political  and  social.  His  honorable 
record  as  superintendent  of  the  armory  is  a  matter  of  history.  He 
had  command  of  Fort  Griswold,  Groton,  Conn.,  in  the  War  of  1812. 
AA^illiam  Bliss,  the  lawyer,  died  March  :),  1838,  aged  forty-one.  He 
ranked  in  his  profession  among  the  first  in  the  county,  and  was 
prominent  in  town  affairs.  He  was  chairman  of  county  commis- 
sioners in  1834.  Mr.  Bliss  was  a  very  companionable  man,  and 
was  very  much  of  a  wit.  ]Many  anecdotes  are  associated  with  his 
name.  Perhaps  it  would  not  be  out  of  place  to  give  one  of  them. 
Samuel  Bowles  was  very  fond  of  pictures,  and  delighted  especially  in 
a  good  portrait.  He  was  very  much  interested  in  Mr.  Elwell's  paint- 
ing, and  gave  him  much  encouragement.  Mr.  Elwell  used  to  tell  of 
an  artist  who  had  a  studio  in  the  Byers  building,  facing  on  Court 
square,  and  to  please  Mr.  Bowles  it  was  arranged  one  day  that  an 
empty  frame  should  be  placed  in  a  remote  and  somewhat  shaded  cor- 
ner of  the  studio.  Behind  this  William  Bliss  was  placed  in  tableau, 
and  Mr.  Bowles  invited  in  to  view  the  new  portrait.  The  visitor 
was  wonderfully  impressed,  and  finally  when  Mr.  Bliss  stepped  aside 
and  left  the  frame  empty,  3Ir.  Bowles  threw  his  hands  across  his 
breast  and  sighed  deeply. 

It  may  be  mentioned  by  way  of  church  activities  that  the  Baptist 
meeting-house  wvas  dedicated  Sept.  12,  1832.  In  that  year  was  held 
a  convention  of  the  Baptist  denomination  of  Massachusetts  in  the 
new  Baptist  church,  one  hundred  and  eighty  churches  being  repre- 
sented. Rev.  Dwight  Ives  was  ordained  pastor  of  the  First  Bap- 
tist Church,  in  January,  1836,  Rev.  Dr.  Davis,  of  Hartford,  preach- 
ing the  sermon.  In  October,  1836,  Rev.  Simeon  Howard  Calhoun 
was  ordained  at  the  First  Church  as  an  evangelist  preparatory  to  his 
duties  in  Greece  and  the  Holy  Land.  Christ  Church  (Episcopal)  was 
chi'istened  April  1,  1840,  and  on  the  following  day  Mr.  Henry  W. 
Lee  was  installed  rector.  Rev.  Dr.  Stone,  of  Boston,  preaching  the 


sermon. 


446  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

In  the  autumn  of  1833  a  new  school  building  for  the  Centre  Dis- 
trict was  completed.  It  was  situated  "  near  the  foot  of  State  street." 
The  old  building  was  bouglit  by  Philip  Wilcox  and  fitted  up  for  a  tin 
factory.  The  Misses  M.  and  N.  Holland  were  teaching  a  young 
ladies'  seminary  at  tliis  time,  and  ]Mrw.  A.  P.  Curtis  was  principal  of 
the  Springfield  Female  Academy.  The  school-house  belonging  to  the 
armory  was  burned  in  January,  1840. 

Tiie  fire  department  was  in  a  flourishing  condition.  In  October, 
1837,  there  was  a  grand  muster  with  five  engines,  one  hundred  aud 
sixty-two  men,  and  one  thousand  three  hundred  and  seventy  feet  of 
hose,  not  counting  the  Independent  Fire  Club.  The  engines  were 
tested  on  Liberty  square,  when  they  proceeded  to  Court  square.  By 
the  use  of  two  engines  hose  was  run  to  the  balustrade  at  the  foot  of 
the  spire  of  Dr.  Osgood's  church  and  a  stream  of  water  thrown  ten 
feet  above  the  old  rooster.  The  annual  festival  of  the  Springfield 
Fire  Department  took  place  Jan.  2,  1838,  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  sitting  down  at  the  Hampden  Coffee-house  table ;  George 
Colton  presided,  and  Col.  I.  Goodman,  E.  Hitchcock,  F.  M.  Carew, 
and  Samuel  Bowles  acted  as  vice-presidents. 

In  1835  the  Springfield  Light  Infantry  organized  as  foUows : 
Edward  Rowland,  Jr.,  captain  ;  AVilliam  W.  Orne,  lieutenant ;  George 
Dwight,  ensign  ;  Nathaniel  Lombard,  orderly  sergeant ;  R.  T.  Saf- 
ord,  S.  B.  Hodgett,  and  Dwight  Smith,  sergeants.  The  follow- 
ing year  Lieut.  George  Dwight  was  elected  captain,  Capt.  E.  Row- 
land having  been  appointed  division  inspector.  R.  T.  Safford  was 
elected  first  lieutenant  and  Edward  D.  Chapin  ensign.  A  brigade 
muster  followed  in  this  town  a  few  weeks  later,  eleven  companies 
being  present,  under  command  of  General  West.  The  column 
was  reviewed  on  Walnut  street  by  Major-General  Moseley,  and  by 
Governor  Everett  in  the  afternoon.  The  artillery  and  the  light 
infantry  had  another  gala  day  in  September,  1837.  They  were  out 
one  thousand  strong.  Artillery  was  represented  by  companies  from 
West    Springfield,    Monson,    AVestfield,    aud    Belchertown,    Colonel 


SPRINGFIELD,     1636-1S86.  447 

Gorham  iu  commaud  ;  and  the  infantry  and  riflemen  came  in  from 
West  Springfield,  Longmeadow,  Brimfield,  Ware,  and  Ludlow,  and 
were  commanded  by  Colonel  E.  Parsons.  Captain  D wight's  light 
infantry   (Springfield)   were  said  to  have  taken  the  palm. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

1841-1852. 

Maj.  Edward  Ingersoll.  —  Colonel  Ripley.  —  Military  Superintendents, — Protest  of  the 
ArmA-ers.  —  Charles  Stearns.  —  Col.  Roswell  Lee. — The  "Stearns  Riot."— -  Long- 
Litii^atious- —Politics.  — Ashmun's  Defence  of  Webster.  —  Liquor  Licenses.  —  Ar- 
rival of  John  Quincy  Adams's  Body.  —  Ashmun's  Public  Career.  —  The  Thompson 
Riots.  —  Ehphalet  Trask's  Position.  —  Erasmus  D.  P>each.  —  John  Mills  again. — 
Chapman  as  a  Statute-Maker.  —  Railroads.  — Visit  of  Charles  Dickens. —More  River 
Steamboats.  — The  Fire  of  1S44.  —  Real-Estate  Changes.  —  Proposal  for  a  City  Char- 
ter. —  Deaths  of  N.  P.  Ames,  David  Ames,  and  Dr.  Peabody .  —  Newspapers.  — 
Churches. — Removal  of  the  Old  Cemetery. — Jenny  Lind.  —  New  Business  Enter- 
prises.—  Militia. — ^The  New  City. 

Maj.  Edward  Ingersoll  was  appointed  pa3^master  aud  keeper  of 
the  military  stores  at  the  United  States  Armory  in  May,  1841,  in  tl  > 
place  of  Maj.  Charles  Howard,  who  had  held  the  place  for  twelve 
3'ears.  Ingersoll  is  the  son  of  John  Ingersoll,  of  Westfield,  who  for 
so  man}^  3'ears  filled  the  position  of  clerk  of  the  courts,  and  died  iu 
1840.  He  had  grown  up  in  Springfield  as  a  lad,  tending  school, 
dri\ang  cows  for  his  father  up  Main  street,  then  learning  business 
over  the  counter  of  Reynolds  &  Morris.  He  has  a  rare  faculty  of 
observation  and  a  regular  antiquarian  memory  ;  we  ma}"  here  pay 
him  the  tribute  of  having  furnished  for  modern  local  writers  more 
color  and  diverting  incidents,  probably,  than  an^^  other  citizen  now 
living.  His  touches  are  on  many  of  these  pages,  as  he  has  been  a 
never-failing  source  of  information  as  to  what  he  has  seen  or  heard 
from  men  now  long  gathered  to  their  fathers. 

Major  Ingersoll  became  paymaster  at  the  armory  at  a  very  critical 
time  in  its  histor}^,  and  it  may  be  said  that  his  good  judgment  and 
considerate  actions  had  much  to  do  with  the  restoration  of  a  better 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18  86.  449 


feeling  between  the  armory  administration  and  tlie  citizens  of  Spring- 
field. This  was  the  year  also  when  Col.  J.  W.  Ripley  was  made 
superintendent.  There  was  almost  immediately  a  loud  call  for  Rip- 
ley's removal.  His  discipline  was  of  the  strict  military  order,  and 
regulations  like  forbidding  the  reading  of  books  or  newspapers 
in  the  shops  during  working  hours  occasioned  bitter  resentment. 
The  armorers,  in  fact,  objected  to  a  military  man  on  general  princi- 
ples. This  unpopularity  of  a  whig  superintendent  delighted  the  loco 
focos  ;  and  well  they  miglit  feel  pleased,  for  the  disaffection  was 
i>-reat  enough  to  bring  about  a  draw  in  the  November  elections  for 
representatives,  tlie  whig  abolitionists  contriluiting  to  this  result  by 
running  a  "liberty"  ticket.  The  political  confusion  had  been  in- 
creased by  the  failure  of  the  whigs,  in  April,  to  elect  town  officers. 
There  were  no  less  than  four  tickets  in  the  field, —whig,  loco 
foco,  independent,  and  abolition. 

In  the  spring  of  1842  the  armorers  sent  a  committee  to  Washing- 
ton to  protest  against  the  "system  of  military  superintendence." 
The  claim  was  made  at  that  time  that  not  only  the  discipline  of  the 
men  had  deteriorated,  but  that  it  was  less  economical  to  place  a  mili- 
tary man  over  the  armory.  There  had  been  an  uncordial  feeling  in 
the  armory  toward  the  army  officers,  running  back  to  1833,  when  an 
application  for  more  wages  for  the  armorers  was  referred  to  a  commis- 
sion of  three  armory  officers,  which  promptly  recommended  a  reduc- 
tion of  wages.  This  recommendation  was  not  followed.  During  the 
sickness  of  Colonel  Lee,  in  1833,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Talcott  had  a 
short  trial  as  superintendent,  and  his  $12.31  musket  and  $15,000 
deficit  did  not  aid  the  cause  of  military  super intendency  very 
much.  In  1834  a  civilian,  John  Robb,  paid  off  the  old  debt, 
made  a  musket  for  S11.05,  and  showed  a  surplus  at  the  close  of  the 
year.  In  1835  the  musket  was  reduced  to  $10.94,  and  when  he  was 
superseded,  in  1841,  he  had  a  surplus  of  $42,000.  The  return  to  a 
mihtary  superintendency  had  been  recommended  by  the  Board  of 
Ordnance,  of  which  Lieutenant-Colonel  Talcott  was  president. 


450  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6. 


Colonel  Ripley  showed  little  disposition  to  mend  the  breach  of  good 
feeling  between  the  two  factions,  and  when  Aniadon,  Foster,  and 
Hopkins,  the  committee  of  protesting  armorers  who  had  been  sent  to 
Washington,  returned,  they  were  promptly  discharged.  About  forty 
armorers  were  sent  away  in  a  bunch,  and  at  one  time  the  shops  were 
closed.  Some  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  were  compelled  to  seek 
employment  elsewhere.  The  bitter  feeling  was  increased  by  the 
circulation  of  an  unproven  report  that  Ripley  asked  X.  P.  Ames  & 
Co.  not  to  employ  discharged  armorers,  and  there  were  many  of  them 
at  that  time.  Piece-workmen  were  immediately  exchanged  for  time- 
hands  at  81.75  per  day.  The  reason  for  this  was  simply  a  matter  of 
economy.  Piece-workmen  would  save  in  a  month  wages  for  two 
months,  and  lock  the  work  in  their  drawers.  They  were  able  by  this 
means  to  be  absent  two  weeks  at  a  time,  their  names  appealing  on 
the  pay-rolls  just  the  same.  Under  civil  rule  the  men  often  worked 
only  from  three  to  five  hours,  when  they  would  hasten  off  to  their 
farms  or  homes.  When  military  rule  was  fairly  established,  some 
men  earned  more  money  per  month  at  twelve  and  one-half  cents, 
piece  price,  than  they  had  formerly  earned  at  thirty- three  cents  per 
piece,  because  they  were  obliged  to  work  stated  hours. 

The  contest  broadened  out  into  a  fight  between  army  men  and 
civilians  generally,  and  a  local  paper  remarked :  "  The  officers  of  the 
army  all  over  the  country  are  banded  together  by  a  sort  of  Free 
Mason  tie,  contracted  at  the  AVest  Point  Academy  to  carry  out  the 
schemes  of  their  leaders." 

The  nomination  by  the  whigs  of  Charles  Stearns  for  one  of  the 
Hampden  senators,  in  1842,  may  be  considered  evidence  of  the  heat 
of  the  armory  disaffection,  he  being  an  implacable  foe  to  military 
superintendencies.  The  county  vote  defeated  him,  however,  and  Asa 
Lincoln  and  Reuben  Champion  were  elected. 

Until  the  appointment  of  Colonel  Lee  at  the  armory,  it  may  be 
said  the  armorers  were  in  the  main  unmarried  or  transient  men. 
Colonel    Lee,   however,    induced   many    to    build    houses    for    them- 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6.  451 


selves.  The  chariicter  of  the  men  nnproved  under  botli  Lee  and 
Robb.  They  became  inventors,  were  even  elected  to  the  Legislature, 
and  filled  a  large  place  in  Springfield  town.  The  change  from  prac- 
tical gunsmiths  to  ordnance  officers  could  not  fail  to  make  trouble,  and 
many  of  the  old  armorers  were  very  exasperating  in  their  manners. 
They  avoided  the  order  against  smoking  by  puffing  their  pipes  in  the 
stove,  claiming  that  they  were  not  smoking  in  the  shops.  Such  men 
were  given  their  walking-papers  in  short  order.  A  strenuous  effort 
was  made  in  1843  and  1844  to  get  these  men  reinstated,  and  Charles 
Stearns  even  went  to  Washington  to  see  what  could  be  done  there  for 
them.  One  of  the  arguments  used  was  that  many  of  these  armorers, 
under  the  belief  that  their  places  were  permanent,  had  made  valuable 
inventions,  and  given  their  ideas  to  the  government  without  a  tliought 
of  pay.  When  Mr.  Stearns  returned  he  had  an  unsatisfactory  interview 
with  Colonel  Ripley,  who  was  accused  of  extravagance  in  pulling 
down  the  superintendent's  residence  and  putting  up  a  better  one. 
He  was  taken  to  task  also  for  clearing  away  several  small  build- 
ings rented  to  armorers.  Talcott,  lieutenant-colonel  of  ordnance 
at  Washington,  was  a  firm  friend  of  Colonel  Ripley,  and  put  aside 
the  protests  as  the  interference  of  civilians  in  military  matters.  A 
communication  signed  b}^  Chauncey  Shepard,  Charles  A.  Bartlett, 
Thomas  S.  Williams,  and  John  D.  Lord  was  circulated  on  the  heels 
of  this  little  fight,  certifying  to  the  fact  that  the  superintendent's 
house  was  old  and  rotten,  and  that  it  was  wise  to  pull  it  down. 
Charles  Stearns  felt  called  upon  to  respond,  and  the  quality  of  the 
timbers  and  foundation-stones  of  the  superintendent's  house  became 
an  issue  of  prime  moment. 

The  bitter  feeling  was  increased,  in  January,  1845,  by  a  side  issue, 
—  a  trial  in  the  United  States  court  at  Boston.  A  strip  of  ground 
on  Prospect  street  (since  discontinued  and  now  a  part  of  the  armory 
grounds  on  the  west  side)  had  been  bought  by  Charles  Stearns  of 
Col.  Israel  E.  Trask  in  1827.  This  strip  ran  from  Byers  street  due 
east,  and  abutted  on  the  then  Prospect  street,  which  ran  south  to 


452  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

State  street,  parallel  to  Byers  street.  A  United  States  engineer,  in 
surveying  the  United  States  lands,  found  that  Prospect  street  be- 
longed to  the  government,  and  Ripley,  knowing  that  Stearns  expected 
to  cut  up  his  land  into  building  lots,  which  would  be  useless  for  that 
purpose  unless  Prospect  street  was  kept  open,  put  up  some  sheds 
in  the  middle  of  the  street  in  front  of  Stearns's  property,  in  order 
to  test  the  question.  Stearns  at  once  ordered  his  workmen  to 
tear  down  the  buildings  and  the  fence,  and  remove  some  lumber 
there  deposited.  Mr.  Stearns  began  the  work  himself  by  cutting 
down  the  first  fence-post.  When  the  Avork  was  in  progress.  Major 
Ingersoll  appeared  and  ordered  the  Stearns  party  off.  Stearns 
replied  that  he  thanked  God  he  lived  under  the  Constitution  and  the 
law,  and  refused  to  stir.  Some  words  passed,  but  no  personal  violence 
was  done.  This  w^as  called,  locally,  the  Stearns  riot,  for  w^hich  he  and 
his  men  were  arrested  and  tried  in  Boston  ;  verdict,  not  guilty.  There 
was  subsequently  another  trial  at  Boston  over  the  title  of  the  land, 
and  Stearns  was  beaten. 

The  opposition  to  Colonel  Ripley  and  a  military  superintendenc}' 
culminated  in  February,  1846,  when  Adj. -Gen.  R.  Jones  directed  a 
court  of  inquiry,  consisting  of  Gen.  J.  E.  Wool,  Lieut. -Col.  N.  S. 
Clark,  and  Maj.  S.  Cooper,  to  examine  the  charges  formally  pre- 
sented by  Joseph  Lombard,  Calvin  Shattuck,  and  many  others.  R. 
A.  Chapman  appeared  for  Ripley,  and  ex-Senator  William  Eaton,  of 
Hartford,  and  D.  H.  Dustin  for  the  complainants.  There  were  thir- 
teen counts  to  the  indictment,  including  the  malicious  discharge  of 
faithful  armorers,  the  employment  of  ''  reckless  foreigners  "  for  night 
watches,  the  deterioration  in  the  quality  of  the  gun  manufactured  at 
an  increase  of  cost,  the  extravagant  building  of  a  new  residence,  the 
receiving  of  commutation  for  quarters  when  elegant  houses  were 
standing  empty,  the  wanton  and  illegal  fencing  up  of  Prospect  street, 
the  swearing  out  of  a  warrant  for  the  arrest  of  Mr.  Stearns,  and, 
linally,  threatening  to  discharge  armorers  if  they  read  certain  local 
newspapers.      There   were   some   points   of    truth  and  right   on   both 


Tho?  Chuiluck.En-g.'  Sprmgfiell.Ma., 


^.AYc^,^. 


SPRINGFIELD.    1636-1S86.  455 


Union  Hall  to  choose  delegates  for  the  State  convention,  and  the 
Tyler  men  carried  the  day.  Chester  W.  Chapin  presided,  and  Mr. 
Mnnn,  the  leader  of  the  administration  faction,  had  little  tronble  in 
subduing  the  Van  Burenites. 

James  Cristy,  the  Cabotville  postmaster,  was  at  this  time  removed 
without  cause,  to  make  a  place  for  A.  W.-Stockwell,  a  locofoco  law- 
yer and  the  editor  of  the  Cabotville  "  Chronicle."  Stockwell  was  de- 
fendant in  a  libel  suit  brought  by  T.  D.  Bonner,  editor  of  a  temperance 
paper  at  Stockbridge.  Even  the  democrats  were  displeased  at  the 
removal  of  Cristy,  and  remonstrances  went  to  Washington  from  both 
parties.  The  following  week  the  axe  fell  at  the  Centre,  Colonel  War- 
riner,  the  postmaster,  being  superseded  by  Col.  Harvey  Chapin.  The 
former  had  held  the  position  seventeen  months,  greatly  to  the  satis- 
faction of  the  public.  These  changes,  ordered  by  an  "  accident  Presi- 
dent," by  which  the  men  who  had  elected  him  were  turned  into  the 
streets,  and  loco  foco  men  put  in,  greatly  embittered  the  politics 
of  that  day.  Locally,  the  ''Post  "  had  become  a  Van  Buren  organ, 
and  the  "Democrat"  had  weekly  bouts  with  the  "Post"  over  the 
issues  inside  the  party  Unes.  The  attempt  of  the  postmaster- 
general  to  compel  all  newspapers  to  be  delivered  by  mail,  and  not 
by  express  or  private  messenger,  did  not  mitigate  the  austerities  of 
politics. 

Mr.  Calhoun  was  nominated  for  State  senator  by  the  whigs,  but 
he  declined,  and  George  Bliss  was  substituted.  The  election  was  a 
draw,  and  was  thrown  into  the  Legislature,  and  Joseph  M.  Forward 
declared  elected  over  Bliss. 

On  New  Year's  day,  1844,  the  local  district  voted  the  sixth  time 
for  congressman,  and  the  whigs  tried  to  elect  Osmyn  Baker,  of 
Amherst,  while  Chester  W.  Chapin  was  still  pushed  in  the  interests  of  a 
bankrupt  law,  an  anti-United-States  bank,  anti-high  tariff,  and  always 
a  simon-pure  democracy.  Baker  ran  in  on  a  very  narrow  margin. 
The  loco  focos  carried  their  county  commissioners'  ticket,  on  which 
was   Willis    Phelps,  in    1844.     Phelps    was    made  chairman  of  the 


456  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886, 


Board.  He  was  auti-^^all  Buren,  liowever,  and  many  of  the  demo- 
crats were  disappointed.  Charles  Howard,  chairman  of  the  select- 
men, was  summoned  (May,  1844)  by  the  commissioners  to  explain 
why  no  licenses  were  granted  to  innholders,  and  he  replied  that  the 
town  had  so  instructed.  The  commissioners  then  decided  also  not  to 
grant  "  approbations"  to  sell  liquor.  Howard  himself  believed  in  a 
limited  license  system,  but  the  rest  of  the  selectmen  objected.  There 
had  been  a  succession  of  exciting  town-meetings  over  this  issue. 
The  majority  "not  to  approbate"  was  finally  three  hundred  and 
eighty-eight ;  so  that  the  temperance  wave  had  swept  everything 
before  it.  A  citizens'  committee  of  fifty  was  appointed  to  prosecute 
violators  of  the  excise  law. 

The  democrats  had  a  rousing  ratification  meeting  of  the  Baltimore 
nomination  of  James  K.  Polk  at  the  town-hall  in  June,  18447  John 
Mills  presided,  and  Dr.  Champion  headed  the  list  of  vice-presidents. 
"Wells  Lathrop,  the  Baltimore  delegate,  told  how  the  nomination 
was  brought  about,  and  E.  D.  Beach  introduced  the  resolutions.  A 
few  days  later  the  whigs  assembled  in  the  same  place,  with  George 
Ashmun  in  the  chair  and  ]Mr.  Vose  one  of  the  principal  speakers, 
and  ratified  the  Clay  and  Frelinghuysen  ticket  with  no  less  enthu- 
siasm. Mr.  Ashmun  rebuked  the  democrats  for  truckling  to  the 
slave  power  and  tlie  Texas  party  in  makmg  up  the  nominations  at 
Baltimore.  So  the  famous  campaign  of  1844  was  inaugurated  in 
these  parts. 

The  Senate  had  no  notion  of  swallowing  the  postmaster  nomina- 
tions. In  June  both  Dr.  Elijah  Ashley  and  Ethan  A.  CJary,  subse- 
quently nominated,  Avere  rejected.  Then  Col.  Galen  Ames  was 
nominated  and  confirmed.  He  was  removed,  however,  and  Col. 
Harvey  Chapin  confirmed.  Henry  Stearns,  who  had  been  appointed 
by  Levi  Lincoln  inspector  of  the  Boston  Custom-house,  was  removed 
in  July,  1844,  for  political  reasons. 

The  great  whig  demonstration  of  western  ^Massachusetts  took  place 
the  first  week  in  August,    1844,   at  Springfield.      Round   Hill    was 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  457 

tnmsforined  into  a  camp-ground  of  delegation's  from  a  hundred  towns, 
and  it  was  said  that  no  less  than  twenty  thousand  people  were  in 
sigiit  from  the  canvas-covered  grand  stand  when  the  eloquent  George 
Ashmun  sounded  the  whig  bugle,  and  Robert  C.  Winthrop,  Rufus 
Clioate,  Daniel  Webster,  Horace  Greeley,  Daniel  P.  Tyler,  William  E. 
Robinson,  Joseph  Hoxie,  and  others  marshalled  the  whig  forces  in 
telling  addresses.  Springfield  probably  had  never  witnessed  such 
a  day  before. 

The  democrats  responded  in  a  mass  meeting  at  Cabot\dlle  the 
next  week  ;  A.  W.  Stock  well,  Arthur  McArthur,  and  others  woke  the 
echoes,  and  party  feeling  ran  high.  A  series  of  meetings  was  held 
in  the  town-hall,  and  heated  debates  conducted  between  David  L. 
Child  and  George  Bradljurn  on  the  question  whether  the  local  aboli- 
tionists should  follow  Child's  advice  and  support  Clay. 

The  result  of  the  elections  was  locally  close.  Polk  carried  Hamp- 
den county,  and  so  did  George  Bancroft,  who  ran  against  Briggs  for 
governor.  But  Springfield  went  whig  in  both  cases.  George 
Ashmun  made  a  fine  showing,  he  scoring  a  plurality  of  five  hundred 
and  more  against  Chester  W.  Chapin  and  others  for  congressman. 
Edmund  Freeman,  whig,  was  elected  to  the  Legislature  ;  but  there 
were  four  vacancies.  Chester  W.  Chapin  was  subsequently  elected. 
There  was  no  election  in  the  State  Senate  contest,  — J.  Abbott  and 
Charles  Stearns,  wliigs,  and  Forward  and  Beach,  democrats.  The 
Legislature  elected  Abbott  and  Stearns. 

The  loco  focos  had  held  the  town  offices  since  1841,  and  the 
whigs  now  made  an  assault  upon  them  in  good  earnest.  The  town 
meeting  of  April,  1845,  resulted  in  the  choice  of  William  Dwight  as 
moderator,  and  Austin  Chapin,  Jr.,  Allen  Bangs,  Henry  Morris, 
Titus  Amadou,  and  Adolphus  G.  Parker,  all  whigs,  were  elected 
selectmen.  The  selectmen  were  again  instructed  not  to  "approbate" 
any  one  to  sell  liquor.  A  curious  episode  in  party  feeling  was  re- 
ported at  this  time  in  West  Springfield,  when  about  one  hundred  and 
forty  men  and  women  signed  a  paper  pledging   themselves  to  do  all 


458  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


their  mailing*  business  at  the  Springfield  post-office,  on  account  of 
the  appointment  of  an  objectionable  postmaster. 

In  1846  came  the  exciting  debates  in  Congress  over  Mr.  Webster's 
political  status  and  personal  character,  and  our  brilliant  George 
Ashmun  was  the  most  potent  champion  against  the  attack  of  C.  J. 
Ingersoll.  George  Ashmun  also  made  a  memorable  speech  on  the 
Mexican  War  in  August,  1846.  William  B.  Calhoun  was  elected  as 
an  anti-war  whig  State  senator  in  November,  1846.  His  associate 
from  Hampden  failed,  but  was  elected  b}^  the  Legislature.  This  was 
the  first  time  in  nine  years  that  a  whig  senator  had  been  elected  by 
the  people,  and  Mr.  Calhoun  enjoyed  his  victory.  Springfield's 
representatives  were  all  whigs,  —  Henry  Morris,  Walter  Warriner, 
George  Dwight,  Timothy  M.  Carter,  and  Alfred  White. 

George  Ashmun  presided  over  the  whig  State  convention  at 
Worcester  in  1847,  when  Mr.  Webster  declared,  amid  tremendous  ap- 
plause, "  I  never  have,  I  never  shall,  I  never  will  vote  for  any  further 
annexation  to  this  country  with  a  slave  representation  upon  it  or  in  it." 
George  N.  Briggs  was  again  nominated,  and  William  B.  Calhoun  was 
soon  after  again  running  for  the  State  Senate.  In  the  v\'inter  of  1848 
William  Dwight,  one  of  Springfield's  representatives  in  the  Legisla- 
ture, made  a  notable  speech  on  the  Mexican  War  and  slavery,  in 
which  he  said,  "  If  you  summon  Massachusetts  to  conquest,  to 
drive  away  freemen  and  put  slaves  in  their  places  :  if  you  summon 
her  to  fight  under  the  black  flag  of  slavery  with  conquest  as  her 
motto,  —  her  heart  fails  her,  and  her  arms  are  palsied." 

George  Ashmun  attended  the  whig  Philadelphia  convention  in 
1848,  and  vainh^  tried  to  prevent  General  Taylor's  nomination  by 
working  for  AVebster.  He  submitted  with  the  better  grace  because 
the  whigs  of  the  North  refused  to  meet  the  South  by  uniting  their 
forces  upon  one  man.  The  whigs  of  this  section  were  not  so  ready 
to  support  a  general  for  President,  even  upon  a  whig  platform.  It 
was  the  sentiment  that  called  together  the  anti-Taylor  convention  at 
Worcester,   in    June,  in    accordance  with  a  call    sigued    by  Charles 


SPRINGFTELD.    2636-1886.  459 


Sumuev,  Charles  Francis  Adams,  E.  Rockwood  Hoar,  Francis  VY. 
Bird,  and  others.  Allen  Bangs,  of  this  town,  was  on  the  State 
committee  appointed  by  the  convention.  At  a  mass  convention  of  the 
Sixth  Congressional  District,  at  Northampton,  to  continue  the  anti- 
Taylor  movement  by  sending  delegates  to  Buffalo,  some  fifty  Spring- 
field citizens  were  present,  mainly  of  the  abolitionist  stripe .  John  Mills, 
who  had  come  out  for  anti-slavery  measures,  headed  the  delegation. 

The  whig  State  convention  was  held  in  September,  1848,  at 
Worcester,  George  BUss,  John  Howard,  and  Mr.  Vose  figuring  in  the 
proceedings.  In  October,  Charles  Sumner  advocated  Martin  Van 
Buren's  election  as  an  anti-slavery  candidate.  Ashmun  was  returned 
to  Congress  and  Briggs  reelected  governor,  and  the  whigs  were  m 
clover. 

The  county  commissioners  of  1847  granted  thirty-six  liquor 
licenses  for  Springfield,  and  as  Hampden  county  was  the  only  one  in 
the  State  with  licensed  bars,  there  was  much  talk.  Possibly  this  was 
why  the  various  orders  of  temperance  held  their  national  festival  in 
Springfield  in  that  year,  which  was  followed  a  few  weeks  later  by 
lectures  by  John  B.  Gough. 

The  body  of  John  Quincy  Adams  arrived  in  Springfield  in  the  after- 
noon of  March  9,  1848  ;  all  places  of  business  were  closed  and  many 
buildings  draped.  Minute  guns  were  fired  when  the  procession 
passed  down  Main  street,  and  all  the  bells  were  tolled.  The  military 
companies,  both  local  and  from  surrounding  towns,  were  under  the 
command  of  Colonel  Shurtleff,  father  of  Judge  W.  S.  Shurtleff,  fol- 
lowed by  the  congressional  and  legislative  committees,  members  of 
the  bar,  and  the  clergy,  fire  department,  armorers,  and  many  others. 
The  remains  were  placed  in  the  broad  aisle  of  the  First  Church,  a 
funeral  car  having  been  built  for  it  by  David  Smith.  The  congres- 
sional committees  stopped  at  the  Union  House. 

The  frequent  visits  of  Daniel  Webster  to  Springfield  were  probably 
due  in  part  to  the  firm  friendship  subsisting  between  him  and 
Ashmun      Morris,    and    several    other    men    of     prominence    here. 


460  SPRINGFIELD,    2636-1886. 

George  Ashmun  was  a  mau  whose  companionship  was  profitable. 
The  town  was  onh^  too  willing  to  honor  him  politically.  He  had 
l)een,  as  we  have  related,  reelected  to  the  Legislature  in  1835  and 
1836.  He  went  to  the  State  Senate  in  1838  and  1839,  and  returned 
to  the  House  in  1841,  when  he  became  speaker.  If  he  had  given  his 
later  years  to  his  memoirs,  his  incisive  style,  wide  acquaintance,  and 
inside  knowledge  of  State  affairs,  he  would  have  contributed  to  the 
making  of  a  memorable  volume  of  political  and  social  literature. 
Mr.  Ashmun  and  Daniel  AVebster  had  together  faced  the  Southern 
spirit  of  aggression,  and  it  was  the  most  dramatic  moment  in  Mr. 
Ashmun's  life  when  the  great  Massachusetts  senator  showed  the  spirit 
of  concession  in  reference  to  the  Wilmot  proviso  as  to  slavery  in 
Texas.  How  could  it  be  otherwise  with  a  man  wlio  said,  as  Ashmun 
did  upon  the  floor  of  the  House  a  little  later  (1850),  in  a  debate  on 
the  state  of  the  Union  :  "  There  is  a  spring  higher  up  the  hill  which 
is  the  great  fountain  from  which  these  ])itter  waters  flow.  I  refer  to 
the  annexation  of  Texas.  It  was  that  stupendous  scheme  for  the 
extension  of  slaver}^  —  conceived  in  iniquity  and  brought  forth  in  sin 
—  which  fully  roused  the  slumbering  anti-slavery  feelings  of  the 
Northern  people  "  ?  But  in  the  self -same  speech,  thus  denouncing  the 
conspiracy  of  slaveholders,  Mr.  Ashmun's  regard  for  Daniel  Webster, 
and  his  utter  fearlessness  of  political  consequences,  led  him  to  defend 
the  senator  in  these  words:  "-Whether  my  difference  with  him 
[Webster]  upon  any  of  the  points  involved  is  not  more  seeming  than 
substantial,  I  leave  for  others  to  decide  ;  but  of  one  thing  I  am  sure, 
that  ui}'  tongue  shall  sooner  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth  than  it 
shall  join  in  the  temporary  clamor  which  malignity  has  raised  against 
hhn.  The  insects  of  the  hour  may  strive  to  fasten  their  slime-spots 
upon  the  fair  disk  of  his  fame,  but  they  will  disappear,  transient  as 
breath-stains  upon  a  mirror.  Envy,  political  hatred,  sectional 
jealousy,  and  republican  ingratitude  may  disturb  the  judgment  of 
to-day,  but  the  future  is  secure." 

The  friendship  which  the  broadest  statesmanship  had   challenged 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1S86.  461 

and  agreeable  couverse  had  ripened  acted  as  the  cloud  that  threw 
Mr.  Ashmun  into  political  retirement.  PLvidences  of  his  power  lin- 
gered, but  the  door  of  a  statesmanlike  career  was  closed  upon  him. 
Both  Webster  and  Ashmun  contributed  to  the  disintegration  of  the 
whig  party.  The  course  of  the  latter  reveals  the  impressionable 
phase  of  his  character.  Ashmun  was  forced  into  private  life  by 
an  admiration  for  Webster's  personality,  which  warped  his  private 
convictions.  The  late  Samuel  Bowles  used  to  say  in  private  conver- 
sation that  the  only  man  he  ever  felt  dominate  him  was  George  Ash- 
mun, and  that  the  way  he  measured  Daniel  Webster  was  to  remem- 
ber that  Ashmun  himself  had  had  the  same  feeling  in  the  presence  of 
the  distinguished  statesman.  We  may  remark,  incidentally,  that  Dr. 
Osgood  was  another  chain  linking  Webster  with  Springfield.  James 
Osgood,  of  Fryeburg,  father  of  Dr.  Osgood,  w^as  the  register  of  deeds 
referred  to  in  Mr.  Webster's  autol)iography  as  having  employed 
hmi.  Dr.  Osgood  became  well  acquainted  with  Webster  when  the 
latter  taught  the  Fryeburg  Academy. 

Those  who  only  remember  AVilliam  B.  Calhoun  as  the  placid  talker 
at  temperance  meetings  or  before  agricultural  societies,  may  be  sur- 
prised to  learn  that  he  could  fight,  when  put  to  it. 

''  Let  us  withdraw  for  consultation,"  said  Mr.  Calhoun,  in  the 
spring  of  1851,  when  Town-Clerk  Joseph  Ingraham  refused  to  qualify 
him,  Governor  Trask,  and  Theodore  Stebbins  as  selectmen.  They 
withdrew,  and  Mr.  Calhoun  said  to  the  other  two,  "  Now,  I  propose 
to  tell  Clerk  Ingraham  that  if  he  refuse  to  swear  us,  we  will  go  be- 
fore the  justice  of  the  peace  and  take  the  oath,  and  if  then  he  refuse 
to  act  as  our  clerk,  we  will  choose  another."  Clerk  Ingraham  gave 
way. 

The  complications  that  led  to  this  conflict  are  matters  of  history. 
It  was  during  the  trying  hours  when  the  village  of  Springfield  was 
expiring.  There  may  not  have  been  any  connection  between  the  con- 
vulsions of  the  village  and  its  death,  but  it  certainly  did  die  in  a 
spasm.      Slavery  was  the  thought  of  the  hour.       In  February,  1851, 


462  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


George  Thompson,  the  English  iibolitionist,  who  had  not  been  allowed 
to  speak  m  Faneuil  Hall,  Boston,  was  announced  to  address  the 
friends  of  freedom  in  Springfield.  A  series  of  meetings  had  been 
planned.  The  local  hostility  to  Thompson  was  by  no  means  grounded 
in  an  anti-slavery  sentiment,  but  in  a  feeling  that  British  wisdom 
was  not  needed  to  settle  a  domestic  difficulty.  The  town  was  up 
in  arms.  Thompson  was  burned  in  effigy.  Unsigned  handbills  were 
circulated,  exclaiming,  ^'  Is  it  rational,  is  it  reasonable,  is  it  even 
plausible,  that  George  Thompson,  a  member  of  that  very  British 
Parliament  whose  laws  have  placed  the  masses  of  the  P^nglish  and 
Irish  people  in  a  position  of  such  want  and  oppression  that  they 
would  gladly  exchange  their  lot  for  the  comparative  freedom  of  the 
negro  slave  of  the  South,  can  be  aught  but  a  paid  emissary  and  spy 
of  England  ?  "  Hampden  Hall  was  shut  against  Thompson  ;  Court 
square  was  made  dismal  with  drums,  fifes,  bonfires,  fire-crackers, 
and  a  howling  mob.  There  was,  however,  a  Thompson  meeting  held 
in  a  small  hall  on  Sanford  street  the  following  night,  and  the  Eng- 
lishman's departure  from  the  village  was  a  signal  for  more  lurid 
disturbances.  ''  But  what  a  sad,  what  a  pitful  spectacle  it  was  !  "  ex- 
claimed Rev.  George  F.  Simmons  from  his  Third  Congregational 
pulpit  the  following  Sunday  afternoon  (Feb.  2:3,  1851).  ''  What  a 
mixture  of  the  vulgar,  the  nonsensical,  and  the  profane  !  To  begin 
with,  those  burlesque  figures,  w^ith  which  some  hopeful  citizens  saw  fit 
to  desecrate  the  Sabbath,  to  the  scandal  of  the  gathering  congrega- 
tions, that  they  might  insult  a  stranger  and  make  Springfield  a  laugh- 
ing-stock ;  for  the  rope  that  suspended  them  was  round  the  neck  of 
all  of  us,  and  we  are  still  dangling  in  ridicule  before  the  whole 
country." 

The  ugly  feeling  engendered  by  these  troubles  came  to  the  sur- 
face at  the  spring  elections.  Eliphalet  Trask  had  figured  as  a 
vice-president  at  the  Thompson  meeting,  on  Sanford  street,  and  in 
spite  of  the  hue-and-cry  Mr.  Trask  was  the  only  selectman  chosen 
at  the  town-meeting,  April  7,  1851.     Two  adjourned  meetings  were 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1S86.  463 

held,  accoiiipaiiied  by  the  most  intense  excitement,  before  the  angry 
elements  could  come  to  an  agreement  as  to  the  election  of  the  rest 
of  the  selectmen.  On  the  day  of  the  last  meeting,  April  28,  even 
the  armory  was  closed,  and  a  frigid  stream  of  surly  workmen  was 
thus  turned  upon  the  town-meeting.  But  the  staying  hand  of  reason 
was  upon  the  meeting  also,  and  William  B.  Calhoun  and  Joel  Brown 
were  added  to  the  list  of  selectmen.  ^Ir.  Brown  declined  to  serve  ; 
but  Mr.  Calhoun  did  not,  and  he  did  his  town  great  service  by  a  firm 
and  dignitled  bearing  in  an  awkward  situation.  At  a  subsequent 
meeting  Theodore  Stebbins  was  chosen  selectman,  but  the  town 
failed  to  elect  the  other  members.  The  friends  of  the  Thompson 
rioters  had  surrounded  Clerk  Ingraham  and  induced  him  to  refuse 
to  administer  the  oath  to  this  selectmen's  board  of  three,  but  the 
demand  ot  Mr.  Calhoun  could  not  be  resisted.  ^'  Hold  up  your 
hands,  then,"   said  Ingraham.      The  oath  was  administered  May  5. 

The  town-meeting  called  for  the  19th  of  that  month  assembled, 
and  in  great  excitement  passed  a  resolution  that  the  ''  attempt  by 
three  individuals  to  assume  control  of  the  public  affairs,  in  direct 
opposition  to  the  recorded  vote  of  the  town,  is  high-handed  and  revo- 
lutionary, and  calculated  to  seriously  embarrass  the  business  of  the 
town  ;  that  we  deny  the  right  of  such  persons  to  act  in  our  behalf, 
and  that  their  bold  attempt  can  be  excused  only  by  the  charitable 
supposition  that  their  eagerness  for  office  made  them  blind  to  the 
rights  of  the  comnumity  and  the  interests  of  the  town." 

These  resolutions  were  expunged  by  a  subsequent  town-meeting, 
and  the  three  selectmen  had  the  honor  of  presiding  over  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  town  affairs  during  the  year. 

The  resolutions  reflecting  upon  the  select  board  of  1851  were 
unjust  to  Mr.  Calhoun,  if  they  referred  to  him  as  president  of  the 
board ;  for  although  a  public  man,  and  repeatedly  honored  with  polit- 
ical trusts,  he  was  for  many  years  in  direct  antagonism  to  the  local 
sentiment  on  the  subject  nearest  his  heart,  —  popular  education,  — 
and  never  used  it  to  gain  an  office.     Springfield  must  allow  to  Mr.  Cal- 


464  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

hoiiii  the  distinction  of  sharing  with  OUver  B.  Morris  the  honor  of  loy- 
alty to  the  public  schools.  Ten  years  before,  when  S.  S.  Green,  the 
first  school  superintendent  in  Massachusetts,  had  presided  over  the 
Springfield  sch(jols  for  one  year  and  nine  months,  Calhoun  had  stood 
up  in  the  town-meeting  and  faced  the  clamoring  tax-payers,  who  were 
willing  to  bank  up  on  their  children's  ignorance  in  order  to  pocket  a 
few  shillings  tax  money.  Calhoun  lost  in  the  fight,  and  Green  was 
allowed  to  go  and  make  for  himself  a  reputation  as  an  educator  in 
Ehode  Island. 

Erasmus  D.  Beach,  whose  prominence  in  the  camp  of  the  democracy 
we  have  noticed,  was  also  making  his  mark  at  the  bar.  Mr.  Beach 
was  a  man  of  fine  presence,  —  genial,  condescending,  courtly,  and 
gracious.  He  was  a  master  of  the  arts  of  persuasion,  receiving  a 
client  with  great  suavity  and  consideration  :  and  his  i)owei-  with  the 
jury  was  a  mystery  which  much  better  lawyers  never  fully  compre- 
hended. His  practice  was  large,  and  his  office  was  always  well 
patronized  by  all  classes  of  litigants.  He  would  listen  to  the  state- 
ment of  a  case  with  the  greatest  deference,  and  w^ould  make  a  client 
almost  feel  that  It  was  a  positive  delight  to  go  to  law  with  such  au 
advocate  to  represent  his  interests.  If  a  man  came  to  him  with  a  com- 
plicated case  he  would  hear  him  through,  and  with  a  wave  of  the 
hand,  or  a  smile  of  relief,  he  would  give  the  impression  that,  after  all, 
the  case  was  not  important  enough  for  him  to  conduct,  and  that  his 
partner  —  Gillett,  or  Bates,  or  Bond,  or  Stearns  —  could  give  the 
counsel  required  as  well  as  more  able  jurists.  As  a  diplomat  of  the 
office,  H  D.  Beach  never  had  an  equal  at  the  Hampden  bar ;  but  he 
knew  his  limitations  thoroughly  enough  not  to  appear  before  a  bench 
of  Supreme  Court  judges.  He  never  was  without  a  strong  man  as 
partner,  to  aid  in  conducting  his  large  practice.  These  partners, 
while  w^ondering  at  his  extended  practice,  had  the  deepest  respect  for 
him.  "  Is  His  Serene  Highness  in?  "  William  G.  Bates  would  ask  in 
the  morning,  and  this  plausible  sereneness  he  never  lost  nor  outgrew. 
When  Mr.  Beach  bought  the  "Hampden  AVhig,"  in  1835,  he  moved 


COLL^a^J 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  465 

it  from  the  hill  to  the  centre  of  the  village,  and  changed  the  name  to 
the  "Hampden  Post."  During  the  nine  years  that  it  was  under  the 
management  of  Mr.  Beach,  the  "  Post"  grew  in  importance  and  influ- 
ence as  the  mouthpiece  of  the  democracy  for  this  section  of  the 
country. 

Mr.  Beach  was  a  frequent  candidate  for  local  and  State  offices,  but 
not  until  1850  did  he  score  an  important  victory.  This  was  in  the 
memorable  campaign  when  the  whigs  were  beaten  by  a  com])ination 
of  the  democrats  with  the  free-soilers.  The  coalition  did  not  care 
so  much  for  the  governor  as  for  the  Legislature,  and  after  Mr. 
Beach's  election  to  the  Senate  he  challenged  much  personal  vitupera- 
tion by  refusing  to  go  with  other  democrats  into  the  free-soil  camp 
and  place  Charles  Sumner  in  the  United  States  Senate.  Day  after 
day  he,  with  a  handful  of  irrepressible  democrats,  repulsed  every 
effort  to  whip  them  into  the  Sumner  column,  and  it  may  be  said  that 
this  party  devotion  prevailed  with  Mr.  Beach  to  the  end  of  his  career. 
He  strikingly  resembled  George  Ashmun  in  personal  appearance,  and 
was  frequently  mistaken  for  the  latter  upon  the  streets.  They  were 
occasionally  pitted  against  each  other,  and  while  it  was  not  a  case  of 
the  two  Dromios  in  a  court-room,  it  would  indeed  have  been  a  re- 
markable jury  that  would  not  have  been  confused  by  the  suavity  of 
one,  the  legal  finesse  of  the  other,  and  the  personal  magnetism  of 
both. 

Mr.  Beach  at  one  time  was  captain  of  the  Springfield  Home 
Guards,  and  by  a  curious  coincidence  he  appeared  at  the  head  of 
this  noted  organization  to  do  escort  duty  at  a  Fourth  of  July  cele- 
bration, while  his  law  partner,  Ephraim  Bond,  headed  the  Light  In- 
fantry, which  Colonel  Thompson  had  long  commanded.  This  legal 
firm  made  a  fine  appearance  as  leaders  of  Springfield's  crack  com- 
panies, and  the}^  were  the  subject  of  man}^  humorous  remarks. 

When  a  loan  of  $2,000,000  was  proposed,  in  1851,  for  the  purpose 
of  tunnelling  the  Hoosac  mountain,  Mr.  Beach  made  a  very  thorough 
calculation,  and  showed  how  small  was  the  amount  for  the  proposed 


466  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

work,  and  he  was  able  to  forecast  very  accurately  the  financial  bur- 
den involved  in  such  a  venture.  In  speaking  of  the  claims  of  the 
Troy  &  Greenfield  road,  which  sought  the  credit  of  the  State  for 
$2,000,000,  in  order  that  it  might  cut  a  tunnel  in  from  three  to  five 
years,  Mr.  Beach  characterized  the  scheme  as  thus  presented  "  a  wild 
one,  —  baseless  and  visionary  as  the  dreams  of  childhood." 

In  John  Mills  was  a  democrat  of  a  different  stamp  from  that  of 
PI  D.  Beach.  Schooled  to  democratic  politics,  often  a  standard- 
bearer  with  hopeless  majorities  against  him,  even  accounted  worthy 
to  contest  a  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate  against  Daniel  Webster, 
and  looked  up  to  as  a  pillar  of  the  western  Massachusetts  democ- 
racy, he  suddenly  turned  about,  in  1848,  and  advocated  a  free-soil 
polic}"  more  radical,  probably,  than  even  his  wdiig  foes  would  accept. 
At  that  early  day  the  men  of  the  Horace  Greeley  stamp  were  not 
prepared  to  come  out  in  a  third-party  movement  like  that  which 
gathered  about  Van  Buren  and  Charles  Francis  Adams,  not  perhaps 
because  they  were  not  as  strong  in  anti-slavery  sentiment,  but 
because  they  had  not  given  up  the  hope  that  the  work  of  the  great 
whig  fight  was  ended.  The  third-party  experiment  was  a  perilous 
one,  and  it  was  at  this  juncture  that  Charles  Sumner  withdrew  from 
the  whig  ranks  and  joined  the  free-soilers.  Sumner  made  a  mem- 
orable speech  at  Boston  before  the  free-soil  convention  over  which 
Mr.  Mills  presided,  in  September,  1848.  This  was  a  few  months  after 
the  national  convention  at  Buffalo  had  nominated  Van  Buren  and 
Adams.  The  whigs  nominated  Taylor  and  Fillmore,  as  we  have 
seen,  and  the  regular  democratic  candidate  was  General  Cass.  The 
free-soil  ticket  for  governor  was  S.  C.  Phillips,  and  for  lieutenant- 
governor,  Jolm  Mills,  who  was  the  unanimous  choice  of  the  conven- 
tion. The  friendship  between  Sumner,  the  whig,  and  Mills,  the 
democrat,  meeting  as  they  did  from  opposite  sides  upon  the  common 
and  inspiriting  giound  of  free  soil,  is  Avorthy  of  mention.  Mr.  Mills 
nuist  have  been  gratified  at  the  showing  of  the  new  party,  so  far  as 
Springfield  was  concerned. 


SPRINGFJELD,    J6S6-1SS6.  467 

At  the  gubernatorial  election  Springfield  had  stood :  Whigs, 
8,272  ;  democrats,  3,209  ;  while  at  the  November  election  Taylor 
polled  3,302;  Cass,  3,0(i0  ;  Van  Buren,  1,200.  And  this  was  in 
the  face  of  a  remarkable  series  of  political  orations  which  the 
brilliant  George  Aslnnun  had  delivered  througli  this  part  of  the 
State.  Mr.  Mills  was  an  extensive  speaker  himself,  but  the  demand 
for  him  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State  weakened  his  home  canvass. 

Sumner  wrote  the  following  letter  to  Mr.  Mills,  dated  Boston, 
Nov.  19,  1850:  "  Can't  you  come  to  the  House  of  Representatives 
at  Boston  this  winter?  We  all  feel  that  your  presence  would  add 
much  to  our  strength  and  character.  You  have  already,  1  know, 
made  sacrifices  for  our  cause  ;  but  I  have  thought  that  you  might 
serve  in  our  supreme  court  without  any  serious  inconvenience,  while 
the  good  to  be  derived  from  such  service  would  be  incalculable.  We 
need  wise,  discreet,  and  just  counsels ;  and  I  know  no  person 
who  can  give  them  better  than  yourself.  Our  party  must  now  meet 
the  trials  of  success,  which  are  more  dangerous  than  those  of 
defeat."  Mr.  3Iills  obeyed  the  summons,  but  owing  to  a  deadlock 
the  town  was  not  represented  in  the  Legislature  for  two  or  three 
years. 

Henry  Wilson,  the  Natick  shoemaker,  another  free-soiler  destined 
to  rise  to  senatorial  distinction,  w^as  another  personage  that  Mr. 
Mills  came  in  contact  with  at  this  time.  In  his  "  History  of  the  Rise 
and  Fall  of  the  Slave  Powder  in  America  "  Mr.  Wilson  refers  to 
Mr.  Mills  as  a  man  "  Avho  had  long  been  one  of  the  honored  and 
trusted  leaders  of  the  democratic  party." 

In  accordance  with  a  legislative  resolution,  in  1849,  Governor 
Briggs  appointed  B.  R.  Curtis,  of  Boston,  N.  J.  Lord,  of  Salem, 
and  Mr.  Chapman  to  draw  up  a  practice  act  for  the  courts  of 
justice  of  the  Commonwealth,  except  for  criminal  cases.  The  rules 
of  practice  had  become  involved.  No  uniform  principle  was  dis- 
coverable in  the  various  acts  of  the  Legislatiu'e  on  this  subject. 
At    the  foundation    was   the    old    common-law  pleading.       Thirteen 


468  SPRIXGFIELD,    1G36-1S86. 

years  before  special  pleas  in  bar  had  been  abolished,  but  general 
demurrers,  pleas  in  abatement,  writs  of  error,  and  other  intricate  and 
time-consuming  contrivances  under  the  old  S3^stem  were  retained. 
As  the  commissioners  in  the  report  accompanying  their  draught  of 
a  practice  act  say,  he  who  *'  surve^^s  what  remains,  sees  eyer}^  plain- 
tiff left  to  inhabit  the  old  building,  while  all  others  are  turned  out-of- 
doors.  We  seem  to  be  walking  for  a  short  distance  in  the  ancient 
but  strongly-built  streets  of  an  open  town,  and  all  at  once  to  step 
into  the  open  fields,  having  here  and  there  a  piece  of  sunken  fence 
or  a  half-filled-up  ditch  and  some  ruins  of  broken  walls,  which  afford 
excellent  lurking-places  for  concealment  and  surprise,  but  no  open 
highway  for  the  honest  traveller."  The  task  of  Mr.  Chapman  and  his 
associates  was  to  build  a  liighwa}^  through  this  ancient  legal  land- 
scape. How  well  the}^  succeeded,  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  Legisla- 
ture adopting  their  practice  act  fully  attests.  It  is  understood  by 
lawyers  that  the  hand  of  Mr.  Chapman  is  seen  in  the  blanks  or  prac- 
tical forms  that  constitute  a  part  of  the  act.  The  importance  of 
this  move  of  Massachusetts  was  that  it  was  the  initiative  in  New 
England  towards  a  reform  in  procedure,  and  went  upon  ground  which 
even  New  York  had  not  then  occupied. 

In  February,  1842,  George  Bliss  resigned  the  office  of  agent  of 
the  Western  Railroad,  and  was  soon  afterwards  chosen  its  president. 
The  completion  of  the  independent  road  of  the  Albany-  &  West 
Stockbridge  Company,  between  Chatham  Four  Corners  and  the  State 
line,  enabled  the  AVestern  Company  to  dispense  with  the  Hudson 
&  Berkshire  road.  The  Western  bridge  over  the  Connecticut  was 
considered  quite  an  engineering  feat.  It  had  seven  spans,  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  feet  each.  It  was  a  covered  bridge.  The  heavy 
AVinans  engines  had  too  high  chimneys  for  some  of  the  bridges  on 
the  road,  and  they  were  lowered,  but  as  this  reduced  the  draught,  the 
lower  bridges  were  raised. 

In  1844  the  Hartford  &  Springfield  Railroad  was  opened,  joining 
Springfield   with  New    York,  —  rail    to  New  Haven  and  thence    by 


l.'Ql. 


/l^^c^  ^^C^.-^^.__. 


SPRIXOFIELD,    1636-1S86.  All 

ous  bands  of  fugitive  slaves  were  continiiall}^  passing  up  the  Connect- 
icut valley  on  their  wa}^  to  Canada.  Dr.  Osgood's  kind  oflices  in 
furthering  this  scheme  have  been  referred  to.  The  negroes  usuall}^ 
travelled  at  night,  and  were  sheltered  by  true  and  tried  friends  during 
the  day.  The  houses  of  Dr.  Osgood,  Joseph  C.  Buell,  John  How- 
land,  Mr.  Church,  and  others  were  used  as  stations  of  the  under- 
ground railroad.  In  1847  Osgood,  Calhoun,  Rufus  Elmer,  and  a 
local  negro  preacher  secured  a  house  situated  in  the  woods  at  Bright- 
wood,  for  the  shelter  of  fugitives.  Parties  had  unloaded  by  night  in 
the  AVorthington  grove,  and  taken  to  the  Buell  house  (the  Widow 
Frost  place,  corner  of  Spring  and  State  streets)  or  other  houses ;  but 
this  was  considered  a  dangerous  practice,  and  they  were  finally  sent 
to  the  woods  of  the  North  End.  The  negroes  never  knew  the  names 
of  the  men  at  whose  houses  the}'  slept.  31  r.  Buell  was  the  preacher 
at  the  jail  for  many  years. 

The  population  of  Springfield  in  1843  was  10,985.  Among  the 
business  events  of  that  year  was  the  opening. of  the  Massasoit  Hotel, 
in  July,  Mr.  Chapin  receiving  many  congratulatory  visits,  and  a  good 
house-warming  followed.  The  Springfield  House  (corner  of  Bridge 
and  Water  streets),  owned  by  Charles  Stearns  and  leased  by  Bugbee  & 
Clark,  was  opened  the  followmg  year.  The  Dwight  Manufacturing 
Company  had  been  incorporated  in  1841,  with  a  capital  of  half  a  mil- 
lion. Some  years  later  it  was  consolidated  with  the  Cabot  Manu- 
facturing Company  and  the  Perkins  Mills,  making  it  the  largest 
cotton-mill  compau}'  m  the  Connecticut  valley. 

The  public  schools  were  not  in  the  best  condition,  one  would  say, 
when,  in  1843,  the  average  attendance  was  onl}^  seventeen  hundred 
out  of  three  thousand  children  who  ought  to  have  been  at  school. 
While  the  town  was  spending  810,000  annually  upon  their  schools, 
they  were  so  bad  that  no  less  than  one  hundred  scholars  were  sent  to 
private  schools,  at  an  extra  expense  of  over  82,000. 

On  October  13,  1844,  Springfield  was  visited  by  another  destructive 
fire,  which  broke  out  in  the  shop  of  E.  T.  Amadou,  in  the  Frost  building 


472  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-2SS6. 

(Main  and  Sanford  streets),  and  five  buildings,  including  eight  stores 
and  shops,  were  consumed;  losses,  $25,000,  including  Daniel  Bonte- 
cou's  frame  building,  INIain  street,  in  which  were  Briggs  &  Forward, 
dr}^  goods  ;  Smith  &  Taylor,  printers  ;  Cowles  &  Lombard,  barbers 
and  fancy  goods  ;  andT.  L.  Clark,  tailor  :  Joshua  Frost's  frame  build- 
ing, corner  of  Main  and  Sanford  streets,  in  which  were  Palmer  &  Clark, 
ready-made  clothing  ;  J.  L.  Skinner,  printer  ;  and  William  B.  Hancock, 
tailor ;  Daniel  Bontecou's  brick  building,  Sanford  street,  in  which 
were  Henry  Adams's  meat  market  and  Willis  Phelps's  wool-room: 
Dr.  Chauncey  Brewer's  wooden  building.  Main  street,  in  which  were 
H.  &  J.  Brewer,  druggists :  Justin  Lombard  estate's  frame  building, 
in  which  were  Rufus  Elmer,  boots  and  shoes  ;  F.  R.  Rider,  shoe- 
maker ;  Simons  &  Kibbe,  confectioners.  The  buildings  of  Elijah 
Blake,  Cicero  Simons,  and  Rayuolds  &  Morris  were  also  damaged. 
The  fire  spread  because  there  was  no  water  in  the  town  brook,  a  mill- 
owner  above  having  shut  it  off  during  the  night  in  order  to  get  water 
for  the  day.  Before  the  gates  were  opened  the  fire  had  become  seri- 
ous. Three  or  four  small  fires  that  followed  led  to  the  general  belief 
that  a  fire-bug  was  at  work.  The  armory  barracks  had  been  burned 
in  LS42.  But  these  fires  seemed  to  stimulate  enterprise.  The  popu- 
lation passed  the  fourteen-thousand  mark  in  1845,  which  was  an  in- 
crease of  over  thirty  per  cent,  in  five  years.  The  open  pastures  on 
the  east  side  of  Main  street  were  being  filled  up.  The  seven  streets 
open  from  Main  street  to  the  river  in  1838  had  increased  to  eighteen 
by  1845.  Chestnut  street  had  been  continued  through  from  Bridge 
street.  The  burned  district  had  been  covered  with  brick  buildings. 
Cal)otville  and  Chicopee  P'alls  were  growing  rapidly,  and  Springfield 
was  being  called  a  "  city -like  town."  There  were  twenty-two 
churches,  — ten  at  the  Centre.  The  Dwight  &  Orne  building  (Main 
and  Bliss  streets),  fitted  for  stores  and  a  hotel,  was  one  of  the  most 
conspicuous  additions  to  the  street.  ]Mr.  Byers  was  putting  up  four 
stores  opposite  the  Alden  House.  The  Brewer  &  Lombard  block 
was  also  going  up.     The    valuation  of  real  estate  was  $3,801,917, 


SPRING  FIFA.]),    1G36ASS6.  473 

and  personal  property,  $1,447,129,  —  nearl}^  half  a  million  increase 
in  a  year.  James  Byers  completed  Hampden  Hall  (opposite  the 
Alden  House)  in  184G  ;  Chauncey  Shepard,  architect.  The  Niagara 
Fire  Company  opened  this,  the  largest  hall  in  western  Massachusetts, 
hy  a  ball,  in  F'ebruary.  P^lam  Stockbridge  completed  his  block  in 
the  rear  of  the  Universalist  church  hi  1846,  and  many  private  resi- 
dences were  going  up. 

At  a  meeting  of  School  District  No.  8,  William  Dwight,  Eliphalet 
Trask,  Simon  Smitli,  John  B.  Kirkham,  and  Benjamin  Day  were 
appointed  a  building  committee  for  a  school-house  on  Elm  street. 
The  average  wealth  of  Springfield  was  a  matter  of  remark  ;  the  largest 
estate  being  in  1846  only  $68,000,  and  there  were  but  five  estates 
with  a  valuation  of  over  850,000 ;  but  twelve  exceeded  $40,000, 
twenty  exceeded  $30,000,  thirty-eight  exceeded  $20,000,  fifty-one 
exceeded  $15,000,  and  ninety -one  exceeded  $10,000  ;  total  valuation, 
$7,078,500,  there  being  $5,000,000  distributed  among  those  having 
less  than  $10,000.  There  were  comparatively  few  poor  people  in 
Springfield. 

The  general  condition  of  the  town  religiously  was  perhaps  not  so 
good,  although  the  ministers  in  those  da^^s  maintained  sharper  lines  of 
demarcation  and  made  more  direct  denominational  appeals  than  at 
present.  There  w^ere  about  eighteen  hundred  families  in  1847,  divided 
roughly  as  follows :  Congregationalists,  430  families ;  Methodists, 
250  ;  Roman  Catholics,  170  ;  Unitarians,  130  ;  Baptists,  112  ;  Episco- 
palians, 90  ;  Universalists,  80  ;  Wesleyaus,  20  ;  "  Come-outers,"  14  ; 
Lutherans,  4  ;  non-church-goers,  500.  Negotiations  had  been  long- 
pending  for  the  purchase  of  the  water-power  at  Ireland  parish  and 
South  Hadley  Falls.  This  culminated  in  1847,  and  the  work  of 
building  a  manufacturing  city  began  at  once.  Men  spoke  of  the 
"coming  city"  before  a  stroke  of  work  had  been  done. 

John  Mills  bought  the  Alden  (Hampden)  House,  furnished,  in  1846 
for  $26,000.  He  had  entered  upon  a  career  as  real-estate  owner,  and 
was  in  the  end  crippled  by  these  investments.     Homer  Foot  bought 


474  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6. 

the  United  States  Hotel  property  of  Jeremj^  AVarriner,  iu  1847,  for 
$19,000,  and  "  Uncle  Jerry  "  retired  covered  with  laurels.  He,  how- 
ever, could  not  remain  long  quiet,  but  with  his  brother,  L^-man  AVar- 
riner,  took  the  Union  House. 

The  question  w^as  already  being  asked,  "  Shall  Springfield  be  a 
city  ?  "  and  the  setting  up  of  Chicopee  as  a  separate  town  also  became 
an  acute  issue.  When  a  proposal  for  a  division  was  up  in  the  town- 
meeting,  December,  1847,  Judge  Oliver  B.  Morris  made  a  strong  plea 
against  division.  A  legislative  committee  was  in  Springfield,  March, 
1848,  and  listened  to  arguments,  both  upon  a  division  of  the  town  and 
a  city  charter.  At  the  April  town-meeting  a  pitched  battle  was 
waged  over  division,  and  the  final  vote  stood  :  For  division,  five  hun- 
dred ;  against,  seven  hundred  and  twenty-two.  The  legisl^ive  com- 
mittee had,  however,  already  drawn  a  bill  creating  a  new  town  out  of 
Cabotville,  Old  Chicopee,  and  Chicopee  Falls,  although  there  was 
clearly  a  majority  of  the  town  against  it.  There  were  a  succes- 
sion of  town-meetings  that  year,  the  charter  of  the  Springfield 
Aqueduct  Compau}^  and  other  matters  seeming  to  demand  special 
consideration.  The  Springfield  G as-Light  Compan}^  was  organized 
that  3' ear. 

We  will  not  linger  over  the  struggle  attending  the  division  of  the 
town.  It  was  said  in  1841  that  ten  years  before  Cabotville  had  been 
"  a  wild  spot,  the  habitation  of  frogs,  quails,  snipes,  rabbits,"  etc. 
It  had  now  six  cotton  mills,  eighteen  operative  boarding-houses,  a 
forge  and  two  machine-shops,  the  Ames  Bell  and  Cannon  Foundry, 
and  several  small  mills  ;  while  the  Universalists,  Congregational  ists. 
Baptists,  Methodists,  Unitarians,  and  Roman  Catholics  had  secured 
lodgments  there.  The  thirtj^-seven  stores  and  shops  and  three  thou- 
sand five  hundred  population  were  the  nucleus  of  a  village,  indeed. 
"The  Cabotville  Chronicle"  of  that  day  was  quite  a  paper.  The 
question  of  division  had  become  so  heated  in  1843  that  at  the  annual 
meeting  the  town  failed  to  elect  a  board  of  selectmen.  The  "  Cabot 
folks  "  renewed  the   fight  in  1844  for  their  section,  which  had  five 


SPRINGFIELD,    1GS6-1SS6.  475 

hundred  voters,  three  thousand  nhie  hundred  and  forty-six  population, 
and  a  tax-rate  of  $5,000. 

N.  P.  Ames,  of  Cabotville,  died  in  the  spring  of  1847.  He  was  born 
near  Lowell  in  1803.  He  removed  to  Chicopee  Falls  in  1829,  and  to 
Cabotville  in  1834,  and  was  one  of  the  founders  of  its  commercial 
prosperity.  He  visited  Europe  in  1840  in  order  to  study  the  mechani- 
cal arts  for  the  benefit  of  the  Ames  Manufacturing  Co.,  and  returned 
broken  in  health.  He  was  a  dignified,  affable,  and  generous  man,  and 
was  an  active  church-member.  He  gave  $5,000  to  build  a  Congrega- 
tional church.  Among  other  deaths  during  this  period  may  be  men- 
tioned those  of  Justin  Lombard,  October,  1841  ;  Samuel  Bowles, 
founder  of  the  "  AVeekly  Republican,"  September,  1851  ;  John 
Howard,   lawyer,    1849  ;    and  Moses  Bliss,  merchant,    1849. 

The  di\'ision  of  the  town  came  in  1848  by  a  decree  of  the  General 
Court,  and  the  selectmen's  board  of  Springfield  was  reorganized  as 
follows  :  Solomon  Hatch,  William  E.  Montague,  Philo  F.  Wilcox, 
Waitstill  Hastings,  and  E.  W.  Bond. 

The  committee  of  the  two  towns  appointed  to  divide  the  property 
of  the  original  town  decided  that  the  surplus  revenue  was  to  be  di- 
vided on  the  valuation  of  the  two  towns,  giving  Springfield  sixty-one 
per  cent,  and  Chicopee  thirty-nine  per  cent.  Chicopee  got  a  little 
larger  share  of  the  school  fund  and  property.  The  debts  of  the  old 
town  aggregated  $20,000,  and  Chicopee  made  a  point,  as  $8,000  of 
this  was  for  the  two  new  bridges  over  the  Chicopee  river.  Spring- 
field took  the  town  farm,  town  hall,  etc.,  except  the  old  safe,  which 
was  to  remain  with  the  Springfield  town  clerk  for  the  preservation  of 
the  old  records. 

But  the  town,  reduced  in  territory  as  it  was,  seemed  as  gay  and 
full  of  business  and  pleasure  as  it  ever  was.  Trade  was  good,  and 
we  notice  that  the  following  January  (1849),  in  one  week  the  Niagara 
Fire  Company  had  a  ball  at  Hampden  Hall ;  the  Campbell  minstrels 
followed  ;  Eastcott  gave  a  musical  soiree  at  Concert  Hall,  Foot's 
block  ;  while  J.  H.  Green,  the  reformed  gambler,  exposed  the  secrets 


476  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

of  the  profession  in  so  adroit  a  manner  that  it  is  said  a  clergyman 
wanted  to  bet  a  small  amount  that  a  certain  card  had  not  changed 
from  one  hand  to  the  other. 

The  introduction  of  gas,  also,  was  a  matter  for  self-felicitation. 
"  We  shook  off  our  suburbs,"  one  man  remarked,  *'  and  now  Spring- 
field is  in  better  shape  for  becoming  a  city  than  ever  before." 

.  David  Ames  died  in  August,  1847,  at  the  age  of  eighty-six.  He 
was  born  at  Bridge  water,  and  became  a  manufacturer  of  shovels  and 
guns,  supplying  both  for  the  American  army.  Ames  was  an  officer 
in  the  Revolution,  and  in  1794  was  appointed  by  Washington  superin- 
tendent of  the  national  armory  in  Springfield.  After  nine  years  of 
service  he  became  a  manufacturer  of  paper,  and,  in  the  course  of  the 
establishment  of  the  largest  paper  manufactory  in  the  _  country, 
made  many  inventions  and  improvements,  including  the  system  of 
"  hot  pressing,"  which  subsequently  came  into  general  use.  In  June, 
1847,  came  the  death  of  Dr.  William  O.  B.  Peabody.  He  was  a  son 
of  Oliver  Peabody,  of  Exeter,  N.H.,  twin  brother  of  Rev.  Oliver  B. 
W.  Peabody,  of  Burlington,  Vt.,  was  graduated  from  Harvard  in 
1816,  and,  as  we  have  said,  settled  in  Springfield  in  1820. 

Two  3^ears  later  Edmund  D wight,  of  Boston,  died.  He  was  a  large 
owner  of  the  factories  at  Cabotville  and  Chicopee  Falls,  and  was 
one  of  the  first  to  take  up  the  project  of  starting  a  new^  city  at  Had- 
ley  Falls.  He  was  born  at  Springfield,  was  brother  of  Jonathan 
Dwight,  represented  Springfield  in  the  Legislature  several  3^ears,  and 
was  a  substantial  friend  of  the  Western  Railroad. 

As  to  newspapers,  it  may  be  noted  that  the  "Republican"  be- 
came an  evening  daily  in  1844,  the  first  daily  paper  in  this  part  of  the 
State.     It  was  changed  to  a  morning  paper  in  1845. 

E.  F.  Ashley  &  Co.  sold  out  the  "  Hampden  Post "  in  1843  to  Alan- 
son  Hawley,  and  Mr.  Beach  retired  as  editor,  after  nearl}^  nine  years' 
work,  and  turned  his  attention  to  the  law,  as  has  been  stated.  The 
local  papers  at  this  time  were  :  The  "  Republican,"  age,  19  ;  "  Hamp- 
den Post,"  age,    14;    the  "Gazette,"  age,   12  years;    "Cabotville 


SPRINGFIELD,    16S6-1SS6.  4:77 

Chronicle,"  age,  4  years;  "Independent  Democrat,"  age,  2  years; 
''Hampden  Wasliingtonian,"  age,  1  year;  and  the  "Olive  Leaf" 
(Cabotville).  There  were  abont  one  hnudred  and  twent3^-five  papers 
m  Massachusetts  at  this  time.  The  "  Semi- weekly  Sentinel"  ap- 
peared in  Februar}^,  1847,  published  by  Hawley  &  Tenney,  and 
edited  b}^  Alanson  Hawley,  of  the  "  Hampden  Post ;  "  politics,  dem- 
ocratic. William  L.  Smith  began  editing  the  "Post"  February, 
1848.  He  started  life  in  the  very  pit  of  political  contention,  never 
deserted  a  friend  or  quailed  before  an  enemy,  was  lionest  and  capa- 
ble, and  lived  to  preside  over  the  city  of  Springfield  and  to  enjo}-  an 
age  of  honorable  repose. 

P^aichon-street  Methodist  church  was  built  in  1845.  It  was  dedi- 
cated in  ]\Iarch,  the  sermon  being  preached  by  Rev.  Dr.  Olin,  presi- 
dent of  Wesleyan  University.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  Dr.  Osgood  made 
the  concluding  prayer.  Tlie  Baptist  church,  corner  of  Main  street 
and  Harrison  avenue,  was  completed  in  1847,  at  a  cost  of  $14,000. 
In  this  year,  also,  Dr.  Samuel  G.  Buckingham  began  a  forty  years' 
pastorate  over  the  South  Church.  He,  as  much  as  any  minister  known 
to  Springfield,  reflected  the  virtues  and  softened  the  austerities  of  Puri- 
tanism. The  South  Church  had  been  organized  in  1842  by  thirty- 
four  members  of  the  First  Church.  The  edifice  was  on  Bliss  street, 
and  Rev.  Noah  Porter,  Jr.,  was  pastor.  It  was  in  1847,  also,  that 
Rev.  Mr.  Porter  preached  his  farewell  sermon  at  the  South  Church  on 
Bliss  street,  and  left  Springfield  to  assume  the  duties  of  Professor  of 
Moral  Philosophy  at  Yale  College. 

The  high  school  was  completed  in  1848,  at  a  cost  of  $10,000,  the 
building  committee  being  AVilliam  Dwigiit,  Chester  W.  Chapin, 
Eliphalet  Trask,  Josiah  Hooker,  Simon  Smith,  and  Sanniel  Raynolds  ; 
architect,  Josiah  Allen.  Judge  Morris  denounced  the  high  school  as 
a  "  palace,"  but  he  became  reconciled  to  it.  The  Springfield  Young 
Men's  Institute,  which  had  been  an  informal  association,  was  incorpo- 
rated in  1847,  and  these  officers  chosen  :  President,  John  Mills  ;  vice- 
presidents,   Ariel   Parish,   E.   D.  Beach,   and    Hmu-y  ^Morris ;    corre- 


478  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

spoiiding  secretary,  E.  W.  Bond ;  recording  secretary,  Samuel 
Bowles,  Jr. 

The  Hampden  House  was  repaired  in  1845  by  O.  M.  Alden,  and 
the  name  changed  to  tte  Alden  House.  The  new  hotel  below  the 
depot  (Pynchon  House),  built  by  Chester  W.  Chapin  and  kept  by 
Mr.  Jennings,  was  called  the  City  Hotel,  in  anticipation  of  a  charter. 

The  w^ork  of  removing  the  old  cemetery  was  completed  in  1848, 
under  the  supervision  of  Elijah  Blake.  Some  women  formed  an 
association  in  October,  1840,  to  raise  money  to  be  devoted  to  the 
project  of  opening  a  new  cemetery.  They  opened  a  fair  in  Sep- 
tember, 1841.  Both  town  and  Masonic  halls  were  secured  for  the 
exhibition  of  fancy  articles,  which  were  contributed  by  people  of 
all  denominations  and  classes.  Tlie  gross  receipts  were  81,300,  and 
thus  netting  over  $1,100. 

The  concert  of  Jenny  Lind,  in  July,  1851,  is  still  treasured  as  one  of 
the  happy  memories  of  Springfield.  Dr.  Osgood's  church  w^as  filled 
with  music-lovers,  and  those  who  had  gone  to  Boston  to  hear  her 
pronounced  her  vocalization  quite  as  good  as  it  had  been  there.  She 
was  entertained  by  a  brother  of  Solomon  AVarriner.  on  Howraxl  street. 
Mr.  Goldschmidt,  whom  she  married  shortly  afterwards,  was  her 
accompanist.  The  school  children  marched  in  procession  to  the 
Warriner  house,  just  east  of  Mr.  Charles  Merriam's  residence,  and 
the  distinguished  singer  appeared  upon  the  balcony  and  acknowledged 
their  attention  by  bowing. 

It  was  not  until  1851  that  the  directors  of  the  Western  Railroad 
ordered  a  new  depot,  but  they  appropriated  the  then  fabulous  sum  of 
$50,000.  Chester  W.  Chapin,  once  a  driver  of  an  ox-team,  as  was 
Willis  Phelps,  had,  by  1851,  become  the  wealthiest  man  in  Springfield. 
He  was  president  of  the  Connecticut  River  Railroad,  and  had  fully 
George  Bliss's  faith  in  Springfield  as  a  railroad  centre.  As  a  matter 
of  curiosity  w^e  add  a  few  names  in  the  order  of  worldly  possession,  as 
appears  by  the  assessors'  books  :  Chester  W.  Chapin,  James  Byers, 
George  Bliss,  Jonathan  Dwight,  James  Barnes,  M.  and  E.  S.  Chapin, 


■^'^^hKB.SattkSons.l 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1S86.  481 


Epliraim  W.  Bond  (citizen),  E.  D.  Beach  (loco),  Oliver  B.  Bannon 
(citizen),  Simon  Sanborn  (loco,  or  some  called  him  liberal  whig) ,  and 
Henry  Gray  (loco) .  The  locos  thus  had  a  majority  of  the  board  in 
a  ballot  larger  than  any  in  the  history  of  the  town.  The  whigs  were 
utterly  taken  aback,  while  hundreds  of  loco  focos  marched  through 
the  streets  that  night  shouting  the  cry  of  victory.  Henry  Gray  was 
superintendent  of  the  Western  Railroad,  and  the  cry  of  "  corporation 
influence  "  was  at  once  raised. 

The  census  of  1850  put  the  figure  for  Springfield  down  at  11,330, 
showing  that  it  had  made  no  progress  since  1848,  when  the  division 
left  a  population  of  11,328.  Of  these,  in  the  1850  census,  about  one 
hundred  resided  on  the  United  States  ground,  and  two  hundred  and 
forty-three  were  colored.     The  total  valuation  was  $4,734,050. 

Springfield  figured  prominently  in  the  Webster  convention,  in 
November,  1851,  at  Boston.  Henry  Yose  was  temporary  chairman, 
and  Ansel  Phelps,  Jr.,  chairman  of  the  committee  on  permanent  or- 
ganization. George  Ashmun  was  made  president  of  the  convention, 
^^ose,  permanent  secretary,  and  George  Bliss  was  on  the  committee 
to  prepare  an  address  to  the  people  giving  Mr.  Webster's  claims  to 
the  presidency.  It  was  indeed  a  curious  spectacle  for  a  convention  ; 
but  after  the  delegates  had  given  nine  cheers  for  AVebster,  and  then 
for  George  Ashmun,  they  added  three  for  the  ancient  and  honorable 
town  of  Springfield. 

The  annual  militia  reviews  were  continued  during  this  period. 
These  were  famous  occasions,  next  to  the  Fourtli  itself,  the  country 
companies  marching  in  their  best  style.  How  the  country  looked  on 
these  occasions  is  seen  by  this  passage  from  Hyde's  interesting  History 
of  Brhnfield  :  — 

"  Occasionally  the  militia  companies  went  as  far  as  Springfield  or 
Hatfield  for  a  grander  military  display.  If,  on  the  march,  the  toll- 
gate  keeper  demurred  at  giving  free  passage,  the  captain  had  but  to 
say,  '  Men,  do  your  duty.'  At  the  word,  Hiram  Gleason,  Warren 
Nelson,  Silas  Parker,  and  Hiram  Powers  would  lift  the  gate  bodily 


482  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-188(3. 


out  of  its  place,  and  the  compauy  would  pass  ou.  These  Samsons 
of  Brimfield  were  equally  ready  to  fight  the  Philistines  in  Springfield 
who  jeered  at  their  np-country  ways  as  to  carry  off  the  gates  that 
barred  their  march." 

The  Hampden  County  Agricultural  Society  was  chartered  in  1844. 
The  St.  Paul's  (Universalist)  Church  w^as  built  on  Main  street  in 
l«44,=and  that  year,  also,  the  Trinity  Methodist  Church  was  organized, 
—  the  Asbury  Chapel  congregation  being  transferred  there.  The  place 
of  worship  on  Pyuchon  street  w^as  dedicated  the  following  year.  The 
North  Church  was  organized  in  1846,  St.  Benedict's  (Roman  Catholic) 
Union-street  Church  w^as  christened  in  1847,  the  Catholic  cemetery, 
Liberty  street,  opened,  and  the  Baptist  church  edifice  built  on  Main 
street.  The  First  Congregational  (Evangelical  religion)  Society  of 
Indian  Orchard  was  organized  in  1848.  Dr.  A.  N.  Littlejohn,  after- 
ward Bishop  of  Long  Island,  was  made  rector  of  Christ  Episcopal 
Church  in  1850. 

When,  in  1852,  it  was  found  that  the  population  of  Springfield  had 
reached  12,498,  the  call  for  a  city  charter  became  irresistible,  and  at 
a  special  meeting,  in  March,  Henry  Vose,  S.  C.  Bemis,  John  Mills, 
George  D wight,  and  Henry  Gray  were  chosen  to  make  application 
for  the  charter.  It  was  promptly  granted,  and  at  a  special  meeting, 
April  21,  1852,  the  town  adopted  the  act  according  to  law  by  a  vote 
of  909  to  454,  and  the  deed  was  done. 


CHAPTER     XX. 

1852-1860. 

The  New  City.  —  Ansel  Phelps,  Jr.  —  Xew  Buildings  upon  Main  Street.  —  The  Growth 
of  Holyoke.  —Labor  Troubles.  —  The  Boston  &  Albany  Eailroad.  — Kossuth.— Philos 
B.  Tyler.  —  Eetiremeut  of  Dr.  Osgood,  —  Gen.  Whitney.  —  Know-nothingism.  — 
Mayor  Trask.  —  Dedication  of  the  City  Hall.  —  The  Fremont  Campaign.  —  The 
City  Library.  —  The  Home  Exhibition  of  1853. —  Death  of  Daniel  Lombard.  —  Panic 
of  1857.  —  Failure  of  the  Western  Bank.  —  George  Bliss  and  Benjamin  Butler. 
—  Politics.  —  Dr.  Chaffee.  —  Free-soil  Excitement.  —  John  Brown.  —  The  Club.  — 
The  Dred  Scott  Decision  and  Springfield.  —  More  Politics.  —John  Brown's  Letter 
to  Chapman. 

One  fiue  evening  in  May  there  was  a  great  concourse  of  people  in 
Howard  street,  where  Caleb  Rice  lived.  He  had  beaten  William  B. 
Calhoun  b}^  four  votes  in  the  contest  for  the  honor  of  being  Spring- 
field's first  mayor.  The  crowd  called  for  a  speech,  and  got  one. 
Ansel  Phelps,  Jr.,  spoke  for  the  crowd,  and  the  new  mayor's  residence 
was  thrown  open  to  the  public.  There  was  no  party  ticket  put  up  at 
this  election.  They  were  picked  men.  The  first  cit}"  government 
was  as  follows  :  — 

Mayor,  Caleb  Rice  ;  clerk  and  treasurer,  Joseph  Ingraham  ;  aldermen,  —  S.  S. 
Day,  Eliphalet  Trask.  E.  D.  Beach,  George  Dwight,  Albert  Morgan,  Charles  G. 
Eice,  OliA'er  B.  Bannon.  and  F.  A.  Barton;  common  council, — J.  B.  M.  Stebbins, 
Eieazer  Riijley,  John  A'.  Jones,  Warner  C  Sturtevant,  Francis  Bates,  Henry 
Fuller,  Jr.,  Charles  Merriam,  Willis  Phelps,  Cicero  Simons,  Henry  Morris, 
Alexander  H.  Avery,  Benjamin  F.  Warner,  William  Hitchcock,  H.  Q.  Sander- 
son, Nathaniel  Gate,  Henry  Adams,  Ezra  Kimberly,  and  Rodney  Holt;  school 
committee,  —  Josiah  Hooker,  C.  A.  AVinchester,  A.  S.  McClean,  George  AValker, 
William  P.  Bagg,  Henry  Adams,  Marcellus  Pinney,  and  Frederick  Holt. 

This  government  was  inaugurated  on  the  two  hundred  and  sixteenth 
anniversary  of  the  settlement  of  the  town.     Mr.  Calhoun,  chairman 


484  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18  86. 


of  the  retiring  and  final  board  of  selectmen,  administered  the  oath  of 
office  to  the  mayor,  who  swore  in  the  rest  of  the  city  government. 

The  mayor  and  aldermen  were  immediately  confronted  with  the 
license  question.  The  new  license  law  went  into  effect  on  July  22, 
and,  on  motion  of  Eliphalet  Trask,  who  in  later  times  stood,  and  still 
stands,  as  a  temperance  tower  of  great  strength,  moved  that  licenses 
be  granted  to  that  date.  George  Bliss  opposed  this  motion,  but  Mr. 
Trask  gained  his  point.  City  Marshal  Adams  had  his  hands  full 
before  the  year  closed,  raiding  saloons  and  rumholes. 

Petitions  were  circulated  in  this,  the  first  year  of  the  municipality, 
for  the  removal  of  Postmaster  Stowe  and  the  appointment  of  Charles 
Stearns.  This  was  called  persecution  for  opinion's  sake,  Mr.  Stowe 
having  been  an  active  military  armory  superintendent  advocate. 
Both  of  these  gentlemen  were  whigs.  Stearns  was  in  Washington 
at  the  time,  and  upon  hearing  of  the  petition  requested  that  his  name 
be  withdrawn,  and  it  was. 

During  the  last  eight  years  of  Springfield's  township  the  business 
street  had  undergone,  as  we  have  had  occasion  to  note,  great  changes. 
In  fact.  Main  street  had  been  largely  rebuilt  or  remodelled.  There 
had  gone  up  the  Union  House,  Burt's  block.  Foot's  block,  the  burned 
district  buildings,  about  Sanford  street,  Hampden  Hall  block,  Good- 
rich's block.  City  Hotel  block,  the  new  arsenal  at  the  armory,  and 
the  John  Hancock  Bank  on  the  Hill.  The  corner  bookstore  of  the 
Merriam's  began  to  take  on  the  dignity  of  age,  owing  to  these  new 
buildings.  There  were  also  four  church  edifices,  as  we  have  noted, 
—  Universalist,  Pynchon-street  Methodist,  the  Baptist,  and  the  North 
Congregational  churches.  The  new  block  above  the  depot,  with 
many  houses  in  that  region,  was  a  real  estate  feature  of  that  day. 
A  dozen  elegant  residences  had  been  built  on  Maple  street,  and  the 
railroad  buildings  were  nearly  all  new. 

The  new  city  of  Springfield  assumed  its  robes  with  becoming  dig- 
nity and  good  nature,  in  spite  of  the  misgivings  of  an  influential 
minority.     To    William    B.   Calhoun,  John   B.    Kirkham,   Theodore 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6. 


485 


Stebbiiis,  Joseph  Ingraliam,  and  P^liphalet  Trask  was  intrusted  the 
task  of  hiding  out  the  wards  aud  apportioning  the  members  of  the 
conunon  council.  It  was  a  good  omen  that,  in  all  the  popular  votes 
attending  the  granting  of  a  city  charter  and  the  municipal  organiza- 
tion, there  was  no  division  upon   party  lines.     Men  considered  each 

question  upon  its 
merits,  and  per- 
fect good-humor 
prevailed. 

The  setting  off 
of  West  Spring- 


The  Corner  Bookstore. 

field,  and  ^^ith  it  the  fishing-grounds 
at  the  falls  on  the  west  side,  and 
the  territory  known  subsequently 
as  "  Ireland  parish  and  Holyoke,  " 
carried  that  manufacturing  suburb 
beyond  the  limits  of  our  narrative  ;  but  that  section  is  so  connected, 
connnercially,  with  Springfield,  that  it  should  not  be  ignored  alto- 
gether. Deeds  covering  the  site  of  Holyoke  were  made  to  Fairbanks 
&  Co.,  and  to  George  C.  Jawing,  during  1847.  We  have  stated  that 
the  dam  and  canals  were  built  the  following  year.  Fairbanks  &  Co. 
had  also  secured  the  property  of  the  Locks  &  Canal  Company  at  South 


486  SPRINGFTELD,    1636-1SS6. 

Hadley  Falls.  The  failure  of  D.  &  J.  Ames  (1853)  and  of  Howard 
&  Latlirop,  and  the  burning  of  their  South  Hadley  Falls  mills,  had 
only  a  temporarily  depressing  effect  upon  the  place.  E.  0.  Dwight, 
in  a  series  of  admirable  articles  on  Holyoke,  prepared  for  the 
"  Springfield  Republican,"  says,  in  reference  to  the  year  1847  :  ''  The 
Eagle  Paper  Company,  of  Northampton,  —  whose  organization  was 
due  to  the  revelations  of  business  profits  made  to  the  late  Judge 
Forbes  Avhile  hearing,  as  master  of  chancery,  some  portion  of  the 
endless  litigation  between  the  Ameses  and  Howard  &  Lathrop,  — the 
ancient  mill  of  David  Ames  at  Chicopee  Falls,  and  the  recently  es- 
tablished Southworth  Company  at  Mittineague,  were  the  only  repre- 
sentatives of  the  industr}^  in  the  river  counties."  Holyoke  had  been 
incorporated  as  a  tow^n  in  1850.  Mr.  Dwight,  in  his  article  above 
alluded  to,  gives  the  following  account  of  labor  troubles  :  — 

On  June  25,  about  9  o'clock  in  the  evening,  an  outbreak  between  the  rival 
nationalities  occurred  at  Springfield,  near  the  Hibernian,  "a  sort  of  rumhole 
below  the  depot,"  which  became  a  riot.  From  10  to  12  the  church  bells  were 
rung  and  an  immense  croAvd  gathered.  For  an  hour  no  carriage  could  pass  along 
the  street,  and  a  foot-passenger  only  Avith  serious  danger.  Finally  Sheriff  Caleb 
Rice  arrived  on  the  scene  and  dispersed  the  mob.  They  had  their  labor  riots 
also  in  those  days.  The  men  at  work  for  Boody  &  Stone  on  the  canals  at  Ire- 
land Depot  struck  on  Xesv  Year's  day,  1848,  because  their  pay  iad  been  reduced 
from  75  and  77  cents  a  day  to  70  cents.  For  a  Aveek  the  Avorks  Avere  at  a  stand- 
still. Then  a  dozen  men  Avent  to  work  at  the  reduction,  under  protection  of  the 
company's  engineer,  Anderson,  and  Constable  Theodore  Farnham.  The  strikers, 
"  armed  Avith  clubs  and  other  Aveajions  of  Irisli  Avarfare,"'  at  once  attacked  them. 
The  constable,  Avliile  attempting  to  arrest  some  of  the  leaders,  Avas  knocked 
down  and  trampled  upon  until  nearly  senseless.  Islx.  Anderson  Avas  struck  Avitli 
a  rail  and  received  a  bad  gash  in  the  cheek.  Tlie  Avindows  of  a  temporary 
grocery,  kept  by  a  Mr.  Day,  Avere  smashed,  l)ut  tlie  shanties  Avere  not  torn  doAvn, 
as  had  been  threatened.  At  last  one  of  the  ringleaders  Avas  captured  and  sent 
to  Northampton  jail  by  a  train  Avhich  happened  along  opportunely.  As  soon  as 
the  ncAvs  reached  Northami)ton  Sheriff  Wriglit,  with  25  men  of  the  militia  com- 
pany, armed  Avith  muskets,  hastened  by  sjiecial  train  to  the  scene  of  disturbance. 
They,  however,  found  all  quiet  and  returned  at  2  o'clock  A.^M.      Tuesday  nuirn- 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886,  487 

ing  came  Sheriff  Eice  from  Spriugfiebl,  with  a  Catholic  priest,  who  guaranteed 
that  there  should  be  no  trouble  that  day  or  the  next  night.  Wednesday,  bright 
and  early,  Sheriff  Rice  returned  with  a  posse  and  made  three  arrests.  In  the 
afternoon  Sheriff  Wright  took  another  man  at  the  depot.  Thursday  morning  the 
six  men  were  examined  before  Justices  Bridgman  and  Hooker  at  Springfield, 
and  Thomas  Long,  Michael  Brown,  and  James  Connolly  discharged,  while  James 
Faherty,  Thomas  Fitzgerald,  and  Jeremiah  Bresson  Avere  held  in  $60  each  to 
appear  before  the  grand  jury.  After  peace  had  been  thus  established  the 
Springfield  papers  came  near  reawakening  the  sounds  of  strife  on  the  banks  of 
the  Connecticut  by  innuendoes  and  sly  allusions  to  a  military  company  which 
went  9  or  10  miles  at  midnight  to  quell  a  riot  without  taking  any  flints  for  its 
guns. 

Meantime  the  process  of  railroad  consolidatioo  had  gone  on,  and 
"by  1855  the  Legislature  passed  an  act  authorizing  the  AVestern,  the 
Aiban}^,  the  Hudson,  and  the  Boston  companies  to  unite,  under  the 
corporate  name  of  the  Boston  &  Albany  railroad,  and  business  was 
such  that  each  ^^ear  large  sections  of  the  road  was  being  double- 
tracked.  The  controversy  attending  the  freight  apportionment  between 
the  AYestern  and  the  Worcester  roads  does  not  properly  concern  us 
here,  but  this  angry  contest  delaj^ed  the  consolidation  for  nearly 
ten  years. 

In  April,  1852,  Kossuth  visited  Springfield,  coming  directly  from 
New  York.  There  were  quite  five  thousand  people  present  at  the 
depot  to  welcome  him,  and  the  constables  had  much  trouble  in  clear- 
ing a  way  for  his  passage  to  the  Massasoit  Hotel,  at  the  balcony  of 
which  the  distinguished  Hungarian  presently  appeared  and  made  a 
short  speech.  On  the  day  following  a  public  reception  was  held  in 
Dr.  Osgood's  church.  His  name  thus  appears  in  the  registry-book 
at  the  Massasoit,  —  "  L.  Kossuth  and  Lady,"  and  under  the  column 
of  residence  he  wrote  "  Nowhere"  ;  then  followed  the  names  of  his 
suite  —  "P.  Hajnik,  Homeless  ;  Capt.  George  Grechenek,  Homeless  ; 
Therese  Pulszk}^,  Homeless  ;  Francis  Pulszky  and  servant.  Homeless  ; 
AY.  T.  Coggeshall,  Homeless." 

George  Merriam    and    two  members  of    his  family  gave  Kossuth 


488  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1S86. 

substantial  aid.  The  patriot's  address  at  the  old  First  Church  was 
elaborate  and  eloquent.  It  was  his  lirst  sight  of  Massachusetts,  and 
his  tongue  was  loosened  :  "  With  you,  citizens  of  Massachusetts,"  he 
exclaimed,  "  the  love  of  liberty  is  more  than  affection  —  it  is  prin- 
ciple," and  he  added  :  — 

One  of  my  companions  stopped  here  in  Xew  England,  in  the  house  of  a 
Avorkingman,  who  labors  hard  at  the  Avages  of  82  a  day,  and  he  found  in  the 
modest  but  neat  and  comfortable  house  besides  the  bible  and  neAvspapers,  a  trans- 
lation of  some  Roman  classics,  Bentham  and  Patrick's  history  of  the  United 
States.  NoAv,  gentlemen,  Avhere  the  Avorkingmen  draAv  spiritual  life  from  diA'ine 
revelation  by  priA^ate  judgment  and  couA^erse  daily  Avith  Roman  classics — those 
ever-fresh  sources  of  generous  sentiment — and  are  familiar  Avith  Bentham's  An- 
alysis of  Diet,  philosophical  utilitarianism,  and  draAv  daily  inspiration  of  philan- 
throphy  and  of  their  country's  history,  there  I  easily  can  understand  how  the 
heart  of  man  remains  generous  in  common  national  prosperity  and  Avraps  itself 
not  up  in  the  selfishnesss  of  undeserA-ed  happiness. 

Rev.  Francis  Tiffany,  of  Baltimore,  was  ordained  as  pastor  of  the 
Unitarian  church,  in  December,  1852,  Dr.  G.  W.  Burnap,  of  Balti- 
more, ]Md.,  preaching  the  sermon.  The  Hampden  Savings  Bank  was 
organized  at  this  time. 

The  Springfield  City  Guard,  in  1852,  elected  these  officers :  Cap- 
tain, John  B.  AVyman  ;  first  lieutenant,  Timothy  D.  Pelton  ;  second 
lieutenant,  Joseph  C.  Pynchon ;  third  lieutenant,  James  Kirkham ; 
fourth  lieutenant.  Burton  M.  Ford.  In  the  autumn  of  1852  Richard 
Walkley,  Jr.,  was  tried  for  the  murder  of  his  father,  Augustus  L. 
Soule  and  William  G.  Bates  defending  him,  and  District  Attorney 
Sumner  was  assisted  by  Attorney-General  Clifford.  He  was  con- 
victed. 

The  legislative  committee  reported  favorably  in  April  (1853)  a 
bill  chartering  a  branch  of  the  Canal  Railroad,  to  be  called  the 
Springfield  &  Farmington  Valley  Railroad.  This  was  secured  after 
a  long  contest  which  had  entered  into  most  of  the  local  elections  in 
this  region  for  some  time.     The  Senate,  however,  killed  the  measure, 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1 SS6.  489 

throiigli  the  Westfield  influence.  The  road  was  incorporated  in 
1856. 

R.  A.  Chapman  and  Charles  Stearns  were  once  more  pitted  against 
each  other  in  1853  over  the  armory  superinteudency  matter,  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  having  appointed  a  commission  of  military 
men  and  citizens  to  investigate  the  merits  of  both  systems.  After  man}^ 
weeks  of  labor  the  commission  was  suddenly  called  to  AVashington,  and 
a  report  of  the  Secretary  of  AVar  showed  that  the  government  was  de- 
termined to  stand  by  military  superintendents.  Abijah  W.  Chapin,  son 
of  Col.  Harvey  Chapin,  was  made  postmaster  in  1853.  The  Pynchon 
Bank  was  organized  this  year.  The  Springfield  Society  of  the  New 
Jerusalem  (Swedenborgian)  was  organized.  In  the  spring  the  ''  Con- 
necticut Farmer  and  Mechanic"  was  started,  and  also  the  "  Chic- 
opee  Weekly  Journal."  In  1854  the  Springfield  Five  Cents  Savings 
Bank  was  organized. 

The  State  temperance  convention  met  in  Hampden  Hall  June, 
1853,  and  was  presided  over  by  Dr.  Edward  Hitchcock,  of  xVmherst 
College.  This  convention,  while  it  believed  in  moral  suasion,  had 
still  greater  faith  in  the  "  necessity  of  legal  action."  The  municipal 
elections  of  December,  1853,  atthe  close  of  Caleb  Rice's  second  term  of 
office  generated  into  party  strife.  The  dream  of  non-partisan  contests 
was  indeed  too  good.  A  workingmen's  caucus  was  called  to  nomi- 
nate a  mayor,  and  Philos  B.  Tyler  was  nominated.  The  democratic 
(•aucus,  a  few  days  later,  made  the  same  nomination.  Tlie  whigs 
then  nominated  Col.  James  M.  Thompson.  Persons  dissatisfied  witli 
these  nominations  met  in  the  police  court-room,  but  it  was  claimed 
that  they  were  outvoted  by  machine-shop  workmen,  and  Tyler  was 
nominated.  The  animus  of  this  charge,  whether  true  or  false,  lay  in 
the  fact  that  Tyler  was  president  of  the  American  Machine  Works. 
Many  prominent  citizens,  free-soilers  and  temperance  whigs,  turned  to 
Caleb  Rice,  and  he  was  put  up  again.  Some  independent  working- 
men  set  up  a  ticket  with  Charles  Stearns  at  the  head,  and  the  bolting 
democrats  nominated  E.  D.   Beach.     Tlie  polling   stood  as  follows: 


490  SPRINGFIELD,  1636-1886. 

Total  vote,  1,763  ;  necessary  for  a  choice,  887  ;  James  M.  Thompson, 
whig,  510  ;  Philos  B,  Tyler,  democrat,  707  ;  Caleb  Rice,  citizens' 
union,  348  ;  Charles  Stearns,  independent  workingmen's,  109  ;  E.  D. 
Beach,  bolting  democrat,  Q)^  ;  scattering,  21  ;  no  choice.  Eliphalet 
Trask  was  the  only  whig  alderman  elected,  and  Roderick  Lombard 
the  only  democrat.  The  second  election  w^as  also  futile,  Tyler  lead- 
ing with  806  votes,  and  Thompson  and  Rice  holding  the  majority  from 
him.  On  the  Dth  of  January,  1854,  however,  the  democrats  carried 
their  point,  and  Philos  B.  Tyler  was  elected  over  the  Eliphalet  Trask 
citizens'  ticket. 

Dr.  Osgood  retired  after  a  ministry  of  forty-live  years,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  Henry  M.  Parsons,  of  East  Haddem,  who  had 
been  brought  up  a  Presbyterian.  He  had  just  graduated  from  the 
Connecticut  Theological  Institute,  and  came  to  Si)ringiield  through  the 
encouragement  of  his  relative,  Aaron  Colton,  and  walked  into  the 
First  Church  pulpit  over  the  aspirations  of  no  less  than  sevent3^-four 
candidates,  young  and  old.  The  retirement  of  Dr.  Osgood  should 
not  pass  without  another  tribute  to  his  stalwart  character.  A  glance 
through  the  early  records  shows  that  Dr.  Osgood  (he  was  made  doc- 
tor of  divinity  by  Princeton  in  1827)  was  especially  active  in  the 
cause  of  temperance,  cooperating  with  Reuben  A.  Chapman  and 
others  in  beating  back  the  fearful  habits  of  rum-drinking,  so  common 
at  that  time.  He  was  for  many  years  a  member  of  the  school  board, 
and  he  w^as  also  an  important  factor  in  formulating  the  anti-slavery 
sentiment  of  this  valley.  He  first  joined  the  Colonization  Societ}^,  and 
opened  his  church  for  its  meetings,  and  as  this  did  not  meet  with  sat- 
isfactory results,  he  came  out  as  an  anti-slavery  man,  but  not  as  an 
extreme  abolitionist.  If  the  duties  of  his  profession  had  not  pre- 
vented. Dr.  Osgood  would  have  had  a  prominent  place  among  the 
anti-slavery  leaders  of  the  Republic.  His  eloquence  was  undoubted, 
he  was  a  natural  leader  of  men,  and  he  had  many  of  the  minor  quali- 
\  fications  of  an  effective  speaker,  —  ready  wit,  graphic  descriptive 
\  powers,  and  a  deep  knowledge  of  human  nature. 
\ 


SPRINGFIELD,    2636-1886.  491 


Springfield  was  completely  taken  aback  by  the  action  of  Congress, 
in  the  summer  of  ISoi,  which  decreed  that  civil  superintendents 
should  be  appointed  at  Springfield  and  Harper's  Ferry.  After  so 
long  a  dispute  the  local  heart  of  anti-militarianism  palpitated  with 
delight.  Among  the  names  mentioned  for  the  Springfield  appoint- 
ment were  Mayor  Tyler,  Otis  A.  Seamans,  and  John  Chase,  of 
Chicopee.  Master  Armorer  E.  S.  Allin  was  placed  temporarily  in 
charge  of  the  armory  (August,  1854)  after  the  removal  of  Colonel 
Ripley  by  Jefferson  Davis,  Secretary  of  War.  When  General  Whitney 
had  received  the  appointment,  a  rousing  civilians'  jubilee  was  planned. 
It  was  the  beginning  of  November.  A  procession  was  formed  at  the 
Pynchon-street  Church  by  City  Marshal  Churchill.  In  line  conspic- 
uously placed  were  the  aged  armorers  who  had  been  discharged,  as 
well  as  three  revolutionary  veterans,  —  Reuben  Burt,  age  ninety- 
three  ;  John  S.  Edwards,  age  ninety,  and  Jonathan  Smith,  of 
Chicopee,  age  ninety-three.  The  procession  brought  up  at  Hamp- 
den Hall,  where  a  banquet  was  spread.  Mr.  Tyler  sat  at  the  head 
of  the  table,  and  among  the  vice-presidents  were  Stephen  C.  Bemis, 
Charles  Stearns,  S.  R.  B.  Lewis,  Seth  B.  Bliss,  John  C.  Stebbins, 
Dr.  J.  Hooker,  G.  W.  Harrison,  and  Lewis  Foster.  The  toastmaster 
was  Grove  H.  Loomis,  of  the  Boston  Custom-house,  and  among  the 
speakers  were  ex-Governor  Steele,  of  New  Hampshire  ;  ex- Alderman 
Whiting,  of  Boston ;  Superintendent  Whitney,  Dr.  Osgood,  Charles 
Stearns,  who  might  have  been  called  ''The  Happy."  He,  by  the 
way,  secured  from  Congress,  in  1856,  his  long-sought  indemnity  for 
losses  resulting  from  "  the  riot."  In  the  evening  the  rejoicings  were 
renewed  in  the  City  Hall.  The  ladies  of  Springfield  gave  Mr. 
Stearns  a  silver  pitcher,  and  the  civilians'  jubilee  closed  with  speech- 
making  and  general  felicitations.  The  next  week  Mr.  Stearns' 
friends  put  him  up  for  Congress,  and  he  accepted  it  on  the  armory 
issue. 

In  the  fall  of  1854  came   the  Know-nothing  whirlwind.      Eliphalet 
Trask  was  put  up  by  the  Know-nothings  for  ]Mayor,  and  was   over- 


492 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


wheliniDiiiy  elected.  Mr.  Trask  had  been  alderman  every  year  since 
the  cit}'  started,  and  his  intimate  knowledge  of  local  affairs  eminently 
fitted  him  for  the  position.  The  aldermen  elected  with  him  were  James 
M.  Blanchard,  AV.  C.  Sturtevant,  David  Smith, 
Daniel  Reynolds,  AVilliam  E.  Montague,  Henry 
Adams,  James  P.  Chapman,  and  Harvey  Foster. 
The  local  democrats  organized 
in  August,  1855,  for  the  campaign 
by  appointing  a  city  committee, 
with  William  Patton,  chairman. 
Ansel  Phelps,  Jr., 
announced  himself 
a  convert  to  the 
administration. 

The  city  appro- 
priations for  1<S55 
were  about  $65,000, 
and  the  debt  about 
8100,000,  mainly 
due  to  the  new  City 
Hall  account.  Spring- 
field had  now  reached 
13,780  in  population. 
Ansel  Phelps  had 
announced  his  poli- 
tical conversion  in 
the  nick  of  time. 
The  democrats  put 
him  up  for  mayor 
and  elected  him  in  December,  1855,  with  a  vote  of  884,  the  Know- 
nothings  being  completely  routed.  Mr.  Trask  received  665  votes, 
and  George  Bliss  200.  The  aldermen  were  Samuel  S.  Day,  Henry 
Fuller,  Jr.,  Edmund  Freeman,  Stephen  C.  Bemis.  Thomas  H.  Allen, 


City  Hall  Tower  and  Church  Spires. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  493 

HeniT  Alexander,  Jr.,  Henry  Reynolds,  and  Samuel  AVebher.  All 
of  these  were  democrats  but  :Mr.  Wel)ber,  who  belonged  to  the 
American  party. 

The  new  City  Hall  was  dedicated  Jan.  1,  1855.  The  architect  was 
Leopold  P:idlitz,  of  New  Yoriv  ;  Baker  &  Graves,  masonry  contrac- 
tors. Chauncey  Shepard  did  the  carpenter  and  joiner  work,  and 
Almon  Parker  built  the  fonndations.  The  corner-stone  had  been  laid 
June  4,  1854,  by  Mayor  Tyler  and  by  Mayor  Rice  ;  Judge  O.  I). 
Morris  delivered  an  address.  Mayor  Trask,  who  had  been  a  member 
of  the  building  committee,  had  energetically  pushed  the  work  for- 
ward, but  it  was  found  that  the  city  had  a  $100,000  building  rather 
than  a  $40,000  structure,  as  first  planned.  On  the  dedication  night, 
with  a  hall  over-warmed  through  the  zealous  concern  of  the  janitor, 
Mr.  Trask  and  Mr.  Rice,  and  Dr.  Osgood  and  Dr.  Holland,  and 
members  of  the  city  goverement,  all  on  the  platform,  proceeded  with 
the  programme. 

Dr.  Holland,  the  historian-orator  of  the  occasion,  was  introduced 
l)y  Mayor  Trask,  and  after  the  dignified  hour  had  passed  there  was 
dancing  until  a  late  hour,  while  in  the  basement-rooms  refresh- 
ments were  served.  The  City  Hall  was  considered  an  architectural 
triumph  in  its  day,  and  the  tower  was  a  fit  companion  to  the 
First  Church  spire,  bodi  of  which  are  destined  to  stand  for  some 
time. 

The  new  city  government  was  organized  with  no  incident  of  note, 
except  it  was  a  little  struggle  for  the  presidency  of  the  connnou 
council,  wliich  fell  to  James  Kirkham,  who  received  the  votes  of  all 
the  democrats,  and  of  Dr.  Nathan  Adams,  a  hunker  whig,  thus 
beating  George  Walker,  republican. 

People  on  the  Hill  and  at  the  Watershops  and  Indian  Orchard 
wanted  to  separate  and  form  the  town  of  Delano,  in  1856  ;  E.  A- 
Fuller  circulated  a  petition  to  that  end,  and  public  meetings  were  held 
at  Gunn's  Hall,  on  the  Hill.  A  committee  (Otis  A.  Seamans,  Joseph 
Lombard,   Natlianiel  Cate,    Lyman  Wolcott,  and  John  Brooks)  was 


494  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1 880. 

even  appointed  to  carry  on  the  agitation.  The  special  grievance  was 
the  heavy  taxes. 

After  the  exciting  Fremont  campaign  in  185G  the  local  leaders 
anticipated  an  easy  time  in  electing  their  candidate,  N.  A.  Leonard, 
mayor  of  Springfield;  but  Ansel  Phelps,  Jr.,  had  made  a  good 
mayor,  and  he  was  elected  to  a  second  term.  Charles  O.  Chapin 
that  year  came  A^ery  near  beating  Joseph  Ingraham  for  city  clerk. 
The  aldermen  were  reelected  except  the  fifth,  sixth,  and  seventh 
wards,  where  Joseph  Hannis,  James  Warner,  and  Henr}^  Pomeroy, 
democrats,  w^ere  Adctorious.  The  common  council  organized  with 
George  Walker  as  president  and  Charles  O.  Chapin  clerk.  Mr. 
Phelps  was  reelected  mayor  in  December,  1857,  George  Bliss,  the 
republican  candidate,  not  being  able  to  take  a  popular  position  on 
the  subject  of  free  rum.  The  venerable  William  B.  Calhoun  was 
placed  in  the  mayor's  chair  in  1859,  an  honor  to  wliich  his  distin- 
guished services  had  entitled  him. 

The  City  Library  Association  was  formed  in  1857.  The  libraries 
of  the  Young  Men's  Literar}^  Association  and  of  the  Young  Men's 
Institute  formed  the  foundation  of  the  City  Librar3^  This  library  is 
interesting  to  students  of  municipal  government  from  the  fact  that  it 
is  really  an  independent  association,  recognized  by  the  city,  which 
makes  annual  appropriations,  and  at  the  same  time  receives  gifts  and 
bec[uests  from  private  persons.  The  experiment  is  a  perfect  success 
in  this  regard.  Rev.  William  R-ice  was  the  first,  and  thus  far  has 
been  the  onl}^,  librarian.  He  combines  the  rare  qualifications  of 
wide  reading,  good  executive  ability,  and  perfect  devotion  to  the  in- 
stitution. The  Springfield  Public  Library,  in  fact,  will  be  his 
monument. 

The  western  ^Massachusetts  editors  organized  themselves  into  an 
association  al)out  1853,  and  their  annual  dinners  were  occasions  of 
cordiality  and  good  cheer  and  wit.  The  dinner  of  1856  was  held  at 
Worcester,  and  Samuel  Bowles  was  made  president.  They  called 
themselves  "Editors  and  Printers'  Association." 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  495 


The  American  lustitute  of  Instruction  lield  its  annual  session  for 
1856  at  Springfield  in  the  latter  part  of  August,  presided  over  by 
John  Kingsbury,  of  Providence,  R.I.  William  B.  Calhoun  was  its 
first  president.  The  American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of 
Science  met  in  the  City  Hall  the  first  week  in  August,  1850,  Prof. 
Stephen  Alexander,  of  Princeton,  president.  Mayor  Calhoun  wel- 
comed the  learned  body  in  an  address,  and  some  of  the  most  promi- 
nent scientists  of  the  country  took  part  in  the  deliberations. 

Rev.  Mark  Trafton  left  the  Pynchon-street  Methodist  Church  in 
1859.  He  had  been  a  candidate  for  Congress  on  the  American 
ticket. 

The  ]nilitia  of  the  five  western  counties  of  Massachusetts  encamped 
at  Hampden  park  in  September,  1858,  some  one  thousand  three  hun- 
dred strong.  Among  the  Springfield  officers  may  be  noticed  Col. 
Horace  C.  Lee,  of  the  Twelfth  Regiment;  Aid-de-camp  William  L. 
Smith,  Lieut.-Col.  Charles  L.  Shaw,  Adj.  A.  S.  Haven,  Quarter- 
master A.  P.  Galpin,  Paymaster  S.  D.  Bowers,  Surgeon  W.  G. 
Breck,  Surgeon  (mate)  George  O.  Otis,  Sergt.-Maj.  P.  A.  Rockwell, 
Capt.  John  Taylor  (Co.  B),  and  Capt.  C.  A.  Baxter  (Home  Guards). 

A  national  horse  exhibition  was  held  in  Springfield  October,  1853. 
The  first  proposition  came  from  George  W.  Atwater  to  the  Hampden 
County  Agricultural  Society,  and  a  committee  headed  by  William 
Pynchon  took  the  matter  in  hand.  George  Bliss  was  finally  made 
president  of  the  board  of  managers,  and  Chester  W.  Chapin  headed 
the  general  committee.  Through  the  influence  of  Marshall  P.  AVilder, 
President  of  the  United  States  Agricultural  Society,  that  organiza- 
tion was  enlisted  in  the  enterprise.  Colonel  Ripley  gave  the  use  of 
the  ground  east  of  the  armory.  A  tight  board  fence,  ten  feet  high, 
enclosed  the  entire  grounds  at  that  time.  A  grand  stand  with  four 
thousand  seats  was  built  on  the  west  side,  while  a  banquet- tent  and 
booths  and  lunch-stalls  added  to  the  impressiveness  of  the  occa- 
sion. October  10,  20,  and  21  were  red-letter  days  in  these  parts. 
Over  half-a-dozen  oovernors   and  five  times  as  many  distinguished 


496  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6. 


men,  and  four  hundred  and  seventy-five  distinguished  horses  graced 
this  occasion. 

Hampden  park  was  inaugurated  with  imposing  ceremonies  in  Octo- 
ber, 1857.  The  procession  included  all  the  military,  fire,  and  civic 
organizations  of  the  city.  Col.  Solomon  Warriner  directed  the 
choristers  in  singing  Dr.  Holland's  liymn 

Thou  who  didst  bless  the  garden  land. 

George  Bliss,  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  and  Mayor  Phelps  made 
addresses.  James  K.  Lombard,  teacher,  wrote  a  hymn  which  was  sung 
upon  this  notable  occasion.  The  park,  it  may  be  stated,  was  a  pail; 
of  the  ancient  ''three-corner  meadow  "  bounded  by  the  river,  the 
End  brook  and  tlie  upLand.  It  included  the  forty  acres  originally 
assigned  to  William  Pynchon,  Jelui  Burr,  and  Henry  Smith  for  their 
extra  charges  in  allotting  the  settlement  of  Springheld  plantation. 
General  Amherst's  army  encamped  there  for  a  week,  during  the 
French  war,  while  going  to  Canada. 

Daniel  Lombard  died  in  May,  1856  at  the  age  of  ninety-two.  Mr. 
Lombard  was  thirty-six  years  old  when  C^olonel  AYorthington  died,  and 
thus  he  was  acquainted  with  the  revolutionary  generation.  He  was 
a  soldier  on  the  right  side  in  the  Shays's  rebellion,  and  we  have  seen 
that  he  was  postmaster,  merchant,  and  a  man  of  wealth.  When 
Daniel  Lombard  was  taken  away,  the  people  of  Springfield  thought, 
indeed,  that  the  age  of  '76  had  passed  into  history. 

The  general  financial  distress  had  its  effect  upon  Springfield. 
Several  failures  had  taken  place.  The  deposits  in  the  Springfield 
banks,  in  January,  1856,  were  :  Agawam,  $86,189  ;  Chicopee,  $90,178  ; 
John  Hancock,  $17,932;  Pynchon,  $31,295;  Springfield,  $38,437; 
AVestern,  $20,097.  In  the  dismal  winter  of  1857  provisions  were 
unusually  high.  The  factory  had  been  developed  at  the  expense  of 
the  farm.  Provisions  were  coming  in  from  the  West,  and  tfie  Connec- 
ticut valley  was  not  feeding  itself.     The  city  debt  was,  in  1857,  up  to 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6.  497 

$123,000,  and  the  taxes  high.  There  was  a  deal  of  grumbling  about 
the  way  things  were  going.  By  November  the  depression  in  manu- 
facturing in  Springfield  was  very  marked.  Over  one  thousand 
mechanics  were  discharged  between  September  and  November.  The 
railroads  discharged  many  men.  Bemis  &  Co.  (locomotive  works), 
AVason  &  Co.,  and  the  American  Machine  Works  on  the  Hill  dis- 
charged over  half  their  men.  The  armory,  however,  maintained  a  pay- 
roll of  over  $20,000  monthly  in  gold.  A  number  of  miscellaneous 
companies  like  Bailey,  Trask,  &  Co.  (sash  and  blinds)  ;  James  B. 
Rumrill  &  Co.  (gold  chain  factory,  Maple  street),  Harris  &  Colton 
(planing  mill),  had  shut  down.  The  height  of  the  panic  was  reached 
by  October,  it  was  thought.  By  November  the  Western  Bank's 
notes  were  discredited,  and  were  bought  in  Boston  at  twenty  cents  on 
a  dollar.  In  December  the  Western  had  $337,591  loans  and  dis- 
counts, less  than  $G,000  in  specie,  and  less  than  $3,000  deposits. 
Things  rapidly  grew  worse,  and  in  Januar}^,  1858,  Judge  Merrick,  of 
Boston,  granted  an  order  suspending  the  bank.  The  depression  was 
only  temporar}^,  however.  The  Wason  Car  Company  had  success- 
fully appealed  to  Egypt  for  orders.  In  1857  Horace  Smith,  of  the 
firm  of  Smith  &  Collins,  formed  a  partnership  with  D.  B.  A^esson,  of 
New  Haven,  and  began  the  manufacture  of  pistols  in  W.  L.  Wilcox's 
building  on  Market  street.  Shops  and  factories  were  soon  running 
again,  and  confidence  was  restored. 

In  the  broad  field  of  politics  Springfield  had  not  been  a  mere 
spectator.  During  the  Scott  campaign  of  1852  the  wliigs  wanted  to 
to  put  up  George  Ashmun  for  governor,  but  he  declined  positively. 
George  Dwight  was  running  with  E.  B.  Gillett,  of  Westfield,  as  the 
whig  senator  for  Hampden,  in  1852.  Mr.  Dwight  had  voted  against 
the  Maine  law,  but  had  concluded  to  oppose  its  repeal,  as  it  was 
desirable  that  it  should  be  fairly  tested.  He  so  declared,  and  was 
elected  on  that  issue.  George  Bliss  was  made  Speaker  of  the  Legis- 
lature in  1853.  Mr.  Bliss  presented,  in  January,  1853,  the  names  of 
George   Ashmun  for  the  position  of   United    States  Senator  at  the 


498  SPRIXGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

whig  legislative  caucus,  and  Ashmun  received  fifty-four  votes,  but 
Edward  Everett's  ninety-eight  was  a  majority  over  all  the  opposition 
candidates.  Much  was  said  at  the  time  about  the  pious  desire  of 
Benjamin  F.  Butler,  during  the  secret  ballot  debate  in  1853,  to 
"knife"  George  Bliss.  The  position  was  briefly  this:  The  whig 
majority  desired  to  repeal  the  secret  ballot  law,  which  attempt  the 
anti-whigs  opposed  on  general  principles,  and  also  because  the  elec- 
tion of  delegates  to  the  constitutional  convention  was  about  to  take 
place.  The  House,  on  the  19th  of  February,  held  an  exciting  session 
which  was  protracted  late  into  the  evening,  the  majority  being  bent 
upon  passing  the  bill  at  once,  and  the  opposition  filibustering  for 
delay.  The  repeated  rulings  of  the  Speaker  declaring  dilatory 
motions  out  of  order  was  the  occasion  of  Mr.  Butler's  knifing  desire. 
When  the  circumstance  was  subsequently  printed,  an  explanation  was 
published  to  the  effect  that  Butler  simpl}^  meant  that  he  should 
"like  to  put  the  knife  to  the  rulings  of  the  Speaker."  When  the 
roll  had  been  called,  late  on  the  eventful  February  19,  by  the  use  of 
the  previous  question,  and  the  bill  had  been  passed  and  the  House 
adjourned,  Mr.  Butler  sought  out  Mr.  Bliss  and  said,  "You  will  be 
sorry  for  your  action  this  day  to  the  longest  day  j^ou  live."  The 
Speaker  replied,  "  I  have  not  many  years  to  live."  "  Thank  God 
for  that,"  was  the  excited  rejoinder  of  Butler. 

When  the  State  Constitutional  convention  of  1853,  of  which  E.  D. 
Beach  was  a  member,  had  long  passed  into  history,  Henry  Wilson 
said,  with  much  irony,  that  not  one  in  fifty  could  remember  whether 
Beach  was  or  was  not  a  member,  so  insignificant  a  part  did  he  form 
of  its  deliberations.  The  record  does  not  bear  out  the  distinguished 
republican's  sarcasm.  Mr.  Beach  joined  in  the  debate  on  several 
subjects,  and  made  the  motion  to  limit  the  representation  in  the 
Lower  House,  on  which  there  was  a  heated  discussion.  His  associate 
from  Springfield,  Chester  W.  Chapin,  w^as  the  silent  member  of  the 
delegation.  The  struggle  over  the  basis  of  representation  culminated 
over  the  plan  of  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  which  was  described  as  a  com- 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1S86.  499 

promise  between  town  representation  and  the  district  system.  This, 
in  the  opinion  of  ]Mr.  Beach,  surrendered  into  the  hands  of  less  than 
a  third  of  the  people  the  right  to  elect  a  majority  of  the  Representa- 
tives. Mr.  Beach  made  a  motion  that  the  House  should  consist  of 
two  hundred  and  sixty-one  members,  divided  according  to  the  number 
of  "  legal  voters,"  and  in  his  speech  he  said,  "  What  is  the  proposition 
proposed  to  be  submitted  to  the  people  ?  Not  the  surrender  of  a  mere 
privilege,  but  of  a  great  political  right.  To  abrogate,  not  in  terms, 
but  in  fact,  the  ninth  article  of  the  Bill  of  Rights,  which  declares  that 
all  the  inhabitants  of  this  Commonwealth  have  an  equal  right  to  elect 
officers  and  to  be  elected  to  public  employments.  Do  you  think,  sir, 
the  people  of  Massachusetts  are  prepared  to  abolish  from  the  Bill  of 
Rights  this  article,  and  to  surrender  the  great  political  right  of  elect- 
ing and  being  elected?  If  they  are  just  and  true  to  themselves,  they 
^N\\\  not.  I  go  farther,  sir,  I  maintain  that  we  have  no  right,  moral 
or  political,  to  make  this  surrender  for  ourselves,  —  much  less  for  our 
children  and  their  posterity.  I  am  aware  that  gentlemen  have  again 
and  again  declared  on  this  floor  that  political  inequality  is  not  injustice, 
is  not  anti-republican,  is  not  violation  of  the  spirit  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  and  our  Bill  of  Rights.  If  it  be  so,  then,  sir,  I  have 
learned  my  moral  and  political  creed  to  no  purpose." 

The  local  free-soilers  supported  Henry  Wilson  for  governor  in  the 
fall  of  1854.  At  a  free-soil  rally  in  Hampden  Hall,  during  that 
campaign,  John  Mills  was  on  the  list  of  vice-presidents,  and  Judge 
O.  B.  Morris  made  an  address.  He  had  attended  the  Worcester  con- 
vention in  the  hope  that  whigs  and  free-soilers  would  unite  in  check- 
ing the  powder  of  the  slaveholders  of  the  South.  But  this  union  had 
not  taken  place,  and  the  judge  concluded  not  to  turn  back.  The 
candidates  for  governor  that  year  were  Emory  Washburn,  whig  ; 
Henry  Wilson,  free-soil,  or  republican  ;  Henry  W.  Bishop,  demo- 
crat ;  and  Henry  J.  Gardner,  know-nothing.  Springfield  had  its 
place  upon  these  tickets.  Stephen  C.  Bemis  w^as  democratic  candi- 
date  for   Congress,   and   James    M.  Blanchard,    whig,   was    on   the 


500  SPRINGFIELD,    I636-18SG. 

know-nothing  ticket  for  Congress.  He  declined,  and  the  name  of 
Henry  Morris  was  substituted,  beating  Edward  Dickinson,  of  Amherst, 
whig  ;  Stephen  C.  Bemis,  democrat ;  and  Charles  Stearns,  by  a  large 
majority.  Mr.  Stearns  polled  five  votes.  But  Stearns  was  consoled 
in  the  following  January-  when  he  received  eight  votes  for  United 
States  Senator  against  Henry  Wilson. 

The  ministers  of  Hampden  county  held  a  meeting  in  Springfield,  in 
March,  1854,  presided  over  by  Dr.  Osgood,  to  protest  against  the 
Nebraska  bill,  and  a  political  gathering  followed  at  Boston,  in  August, 
1855,  to  secure  a  union  of  the  anti-Xebraska  and  anti-administration 
elements.  Samuel  Bowles  headed  the  committee  to  draw  up  resolu- 
tions, which  expressed  alarm  at  the  encroachments  of  slavery.  Both 
Mr.  Bowles  and  George  Bliss  were  on  the  committee  to  issue  a  call 
for  a  convention. 

The  extent  of  the  movement  ma}^  be  judged  from  the  names  upon 
the  address  to  the  people,  which  included  Samuel  Hoar,  H.  L.  Dawes, 
Charles  Francis  Adams,  George  Bliss,  and  Samuel  Bowles.  Congress- 
man Henry  Morris  also  came  out  for  the  new  party.  The  date  of  the 
convention  was  September  20,  and  Worcester  was  the  place  decided 
upon.  Morris,  b}^  the  way,  did  not  take  his  seat  in  Congress,  on 
account  of  a  judicial  appointment. 

Mayor  Trask  headed  the  delegation  from  Springfield  to  Worcester. 
He  figured  as  a  vice-president,  Mr.  Hixou  as  a  member  of  the  com- 
mittee on  credentials,  George  Bliss  as  a  member  of  the  committee  on 
resolutions  and  future  organization,  and  Charles  R.  Ladd  as  a  member 
of  the  State  committee.  When  (Gardner  know-nothing)  led  the 
informal  ballot,  a  resolution  was  passed  by  know-nothings  in  Spring- 
field which  seemed  to  imply  that  if  Gardner  was  not  nominated  the 
know-nothings  would  bolt,  and  this,  with  the  uneasiness  of  some  who 
were  not  enemies  of  E.  D.  Beach,  the  democratic  nominee  for  gov- 
ernor, produced  a  change  of  sentiment,  and  so  Julius  Rockwell  was 
promptly  nominated.  The  straight  whigs  put  up  Samuel  H.  Walley, 
of    Roxbury,   and   the  American   party  jNIr.  Gardner.       Reuben   A. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-2  S8G.  501 

Chapman  was  Secretary  of  State  on  the  Walley  ticket.  It  was  a 
famous  cami)aign,  when  men  agreed  upon  denouncing  the  ethics  of 
slavery,  and  differed  to  the  core  upon  public  policy.  The  sentiment 
that  dominated  the  new  movement  is  reflected  in  these  lines  of  J.  G. 
Holland  :  — 

God  give  us  men !     A  time  like  this  demands 

Strong  minds,  great  hearts,  true  faith  and  ready  hands  ;  — • 

Men  Avhom  the  hist  of  power  does  not  kill ; 

Men  Avhom  the  spoils  of  office  cannot  buy  ; 

Men  M'ho  possess  opinion  and  a  will ; 

Men  Avho  have  honor  ;  men  Avho  will  not  lie  ; 

Men  who  can  stand  before  a  demagogue 

And  damn  his  treacherous  flatteries  Avithout  winking,  — 

Tall  men,  sun  croAvned,  Avho  live  above  the  fog 

In  public  duty  and  private  thinking; 

For  Avhile  the  rabble  Avith  their  thumbAvorn  creeds, 

Their  large  professions  and  their  little  deeds, 

Mingle  in  selfish  strife,  lo  !  Freedom  Aveeps, 

Wrong  rules  the  land  and  Avaiting  Justice  sleeps ! 

The  democratic  nominee  for  Congress  in  the  tenth  district  was  H. 
H.  Chilson,  of  Northampton,  Avhile  no  less  than  three  men  were 
running  in  opposition  to  the  administration,  —  C.  C.  Chaffee,  of 
Springfield,  American  ;  John  W.  Foster,  of  Monson,  republican ; 
and  Edward  Dickinson,  of  Amherst,  straight  whig.  Mr.  Bowles 
addressed  ardent  private  appeals  to  these  gentlemen  to  unite  upon 
one  man.  Colonel  Foster  promptly  agreed  to  withdraw  in  favor  of 
Erastus  Hopkins,  William  Hyde,  or  au}^  other  competent  man. 
Dr.  Chaffee  declined  to  follow  this  example,  but  said  he  would  with- 
draw in  favor  of  Alanson  Hawley,  of  Northampton.  Colonel  Foster 
in  turn  declined,  and  the  proposal  failed.  Well,  Gardner  was  re- 
elected governor,  and  Dr.  Chaffee  went  to  Congress.  The  Con- 
gressional election  Avas  a  special  one,  owing  to  Henry  Morris's 
resio'uation. 


502  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

Dr.  Chaffee  soon  offended  his  party  by  supporting  Mr.  Banks  for 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  At  a  tenth  district  con- 
vention a  resolution  applauding  Dr.  Chaffee's  course  was  tabled  upon 
the  ground  that  Banks  was  a  "  black  republican,"  and  an  unfit  man 
for  the  American  party  to  support. 

The  Fremont  campaign  had  opened  with  a  whirl  in  this  part  of  the 
State.  In  June,  George  D wight,  chairman  of  the  citizens'  committee 
of  arrangements,  and  William  S.  Shurtleft',  president  of  the  Young- 
Men's  Fremont  Club,  invited  the  friends  of  ''  Fremont  and  Freedom  " 
in  western  Massachusetts  to  gather  at  Springfield,  in  mass  conven- 
tion, on  the  fourth.  A  huge  tent  was  pitched  near  the  railroad  on 
Chestnut  street.  George  Bliss,  who  presided,  announced  a  recon- 
sideration in  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  vote  against  the 
Free  State  Kansas  bill.  Julius  Rockwell,  Judge  E.  Roekwood  Hoar, 
A.  O.  Brewster,  of  Boston  ;  Congressman  Stanton,  of  Ohio  ;  Senator 
James  Dixon,  of  Connecticut ;  and  General  Pomeroy  and  William  J. 
Calhoun,  of  Kansas,  spoke. 

An  American  State  convention  had  occupied  the  City  Hall  on  the 
Tuesday  previous  with  Thomas  Colt,  of  Pittsfield,  in  the  chair.  By 
a  large  majority  the  Fremont  ticket  was  applauded  and  support 
pledged.  The  minority  bolted,  and  then  the  convention  selected  its 
presidential  electoral  ticket,  Mr.  Trask  being  chosen  for  the  tenth 
district. 

Springfield's  part  in  the  Kansas  struggle  was  not  inconsiderable, 
and  requires  a  word.  In  the  first  place,  John  Brown  had  been  in 
business  here,  —  a  member  of  the  wool  firm  of  Perkins  &  Brown,  and 
the  course  of  the  first  victim  of  the  slave  power  was  watched  with 
substantial  and  prayerful  interest.  Among  the  Springfield  men  who 
went  to  Kansas  was  a  Charles  Stearns,  who  settled  at  Lawrence.  His 
theory  was  that  the  doctrine  of  peace  would  prevail,  but  after  being- 
there  for  a  while  he  wrote  to  his  mother  here:  ''I  have  actually 
bought  me  a  rifle,  and  shall  fight  if  the  crisis  demands  it."  He  de- 
tailed  the  fio'hts    between  the  free-state  men  and  these   ruffians,  and 


SPRINGFIELD,    16S6-1SS6.  503 

added:  "  In  oue  of  these  skirmishes  the  free-state  men  lost  seA^eral 
who  were  taken  prisoners  b}^  the  ruffians,  among  them  John  and 
Jason  Brown,  formerly  of  Springfield,  where  John  Brown,  the  father, 
was  once  in  the  wool  business.  He  is  one  of  the  most  valiant  men 
we  have.  His  other  son,  John,  Jr.,  is  still  a  prisoner  and  insane.  I 
saw  Jason  Brown,  the  son,  released  with  his  father,  last  night,  and 
another  son  several  days  ago.  I  saw  the  chains  which  were  put  upon 
them,  and  by  which  the  father  was  chained  to  his  insane  son." 

The  American  party,  with  Millard  Fillmore  at  the  head,  was  held 
together  under  stress  of  weather,  but  was  destined  to  break  up,  as 
the  issue  was  reduced  to  slavery.  The  local  Fillmore  club  organized 
with  these  officers  :  President,  Homer  Foot ;  vice-presidents,  James 
D.  Brewer,  D.  H.  Brigham,  Deacon  Clark,  Dr.  John  Hooker,  and 
John  Y.  Jones  ;  secretaries,  Horace  C.  Lee  and  S.  E.  Church.  It 
might  be  said  that  ^Ir.  Trask  led  the  Fremont  and  Dr.  Hooker 
the  Fillmore  sections  of  the  party. 

The  position  of  the  Northern  men  in  Congress  was  most  exasperat- 
ing. Mr.  Brooks,  of  South  Carolina,  took  offence  at  a  speech  of 
Burlingame,  of  Massachusetts,  and  a  duel  was  on  the  tapis ;  but, 
thanks  to  the  firm  hand  of  the  brave  George  Ashmun  upon  the 
shoulder  of  Brooks,  an  affair  of  honor  was  avoided. 

The  Executive,  following  the  policy  of  crippling  the  United  States 
armories,  had  discharged  two  hundred  and  fifty-seven  armorers  in 
Springfield,  leaving  only  the  superintendent,  paymaster,  master  ar- 
morer, a  clerk,  and  seven  watchmen  in  charge  of  the  Federal  arsenal. 
Men  gathered  around  Frank  Sanborn,  who  arrived  from  Kansas  in 
August  (and  Kansas  then  was  twenty  daj^s  from  Chicago) ,  to  hear 
the  particulars  of  the  outrages  in  that  unhappy  skirmishing-ground 
just  before  the  great  issue  was  joined,  and  the  slave's  friend  and  the 
slave's  master  tried  conclusions  in  open  war  ;  and  as  the  story  of 
the  border  life,  ruffian,  and  freesoil  emigrant  was  unfolded  on  these 
streets  by  the  new  arrival,  and  men  thought  of  the  pro-slavery  ad- 
ministration, the  empty  armory,  and  a  rampant  dominating  Southern 


504  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

planter  element  in  Congress,  the  temper  of  the  commnnity  grew  to  a 
wliite  heat. 

We  do  not  know  Iiow  widespread  was  the  local  resentment  of  the 
armorers  at  Dr.  Chaffee,  whose  vote  and  inflnence,  it  is  claimed, 
might  have  saved  the  appropriation  bill ;  but  an  objectionable  Kansas 
provision  had  been  attached  as  a  rider,  and,  moreover,  it  should  be  re- 
membered that  Dr.  Chaffee  introduced  a  resolution  in  the  House  to  the 
effect  that  so  much  of  the  armory  bill  providing  for  the  expenses  of  the 
war  department  proper,  including  arsenals,  armories,  surveys,  arma- 
ment, and  fortifications,  without  reference  to  army  operations,  be 
passed.  But  objection  was  made  and  leave  was  not  granted  ;  so 
Congress  adjourned  without  making  the  regular  appropriations.  An 
extra  session  was  immediatel}'^  called,  the  Kansas  proviso  was  voted 
down  and  the  supplies  granted.  The  republicans  had  been  defeated, 
but  had  put  themselves  on  record.  The  armorers  out  of  work  may 
have  looked  upon  Dr.  Chaffee's  action  with  pardonably  narrow  irrita- 
tion, but  as  a  public  act  the  Springfield  Congressman  stood  upon 
firm  ground.  The  dismal  state  of  affairs  in  Kansas,  in  the  autumn  of 
1856,  should  not  be  forgotten.  "  I  went  for  the  scalp  of  a  damned 
abolitionist,  and  I  got  one,"  said  a  Leavenworth  ruffian,  after  mur- 
dering Mr.  Hopps,  brother-in-law  of  Rev.  Ephi'aim  Nute,  who  wrote 
the  full  particulars  to  Rev.  Mr.  Tiffany  of  this  city.  David  S.  Hoyt, 
of  Deerfield,  was  decoyed  by  a  Freemason  a  few  miles  from  Law^- 
rence  and  murdered  in  cold  blood.  There  was  a  rally,  and  in  a  few 
days  his  murderer  was  captured.  He  begged  for  mercy  on  his  knees, 
and  for  some  reason  or  other  he  was  not  hanged  on  the  spot. 

John  Brown  had  settled  in  Springfield  in  1846.  "  Say  to  Ruth," 
he  wrote  that  year  to  his  son  John,  "  to  be  all  that  to-day  which  she 
intends  to  be  to-morrow."  Such  was  the  keynote  of  this  extraordi- 
nary character,  whose  life  of  applied  morality  was  a  rebuke  to  the 
theoretical  ethics  of  the  world.  Windsor,  Conn.,  w^as  the  home  of 
his  ancestors.  He  was,  as  we  have  said,  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Perkins  &   Brown,  wool   merchants,  dealing  directly  wdth  the  wool- 


SPRIXGFIELD,    163G-1SSG. 


505 


John  Brown  organizing  a  Secret  Lodge  among  the  Springfield  Negroes,  1S51. 


506  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

growers  of  Ohio  and  the  West.  Perkins  &  Brown  rented  the  upper 
part  of  John  L.  King's  warehouse,  near  the  depot,  and  worked  with 
his  men  daity,  in  sorting  wool.  He  had  changed  to  Chester  W. 
Chapin's  new  block,  south  of  the  railroad  office,  in  1848.  The  firm, 
which  owned  fine  flocks  of  sheep  in  Ohio,  had  been  sent  to  Springfield 
to  represent  the  Western  wool-growers  in  New  England,  where  their 
wool  was  to  be  graded.  It  worked  well  the  first  3"ear,  but  failing 
markets,  a  want  of  proper  cooperation  in  the  AYest,  and  not  over 
commercial  methods  of  business  on  the  part  of  Brown  himself,  con- 
tributed to  financial  disaster.  He  did  over  $50,000  worth  of  business, 
Y  however.  Among  John  Brown's  visitors  at  this  time  was  Frederick 
Douglass,  who  was  surprised  to  find  him  living  in  a  small  wooden 
house  on  a  back  street,  furnished  in  a  way  to  ''  almost  suggest  des- 
titution." In  an  attempt  to  save  his  fortunes  Brown  sent  the  whole 
output  of  wool  to  Europe  in  1850.  He  refused  local  offers  of  sixty 
cents  per  pound,  and  away  it  went  over  the  waters.  A  few  months 
later  Mr.  Brown  stood  in  a  Springfield  freight-house  and  saw  the  self- 
same Avool,  which  had  come  back  from  London,  sell  for  fifty-two  cents  ! 
John  Brown  was  in  the  Adirondack  wilderness  in  1851.  It  was 
while  visiting  Springfield  that  year  that  he  organized  the  "  Spring- 
field Gileadites,"  a  "  branch  of  the  United  States  league  of  Gilead- 
ites,"  an  order  among  colored  people  to  resist  the  capture  of 
fugitives.  No  less  than  fort}^- four  negroes  joined  this  league.  B.  C. 
Dowling  headed  the  list,  and  in  the  list  was  J.  N.  Howard,  the 
honored  sexton  of  the  South  Church.  His  stories  of  slave-life  were 
of  the  "  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin  order,"  and  when  he  was  gathered  to  his 
fathers  a  link  connecting  us  with  the  slave-masters'  era  was  broken. 

Curiously  enough  Reuben  A.  Chapman,  who  was  not  a  freesoiler 
in  those  days,  was  ]Mr.  Brown's  attorney,  and  Chapman  was  always 
enthusiastic  in  his  tributes  to  Brown's  integrity  and  sense  of  justice. 
Mr.  Chapman's  character  is  well  illustrated  by  a  remark  of  his  some 
time  after  Congress  had  passed  the  fugitive  slave  law,  which  imposed 
upon  judges  and  the  United  States  commissioners  the  dutv  of  issuing 


^2^^>i 


/^ 


'^7^^^ 


PiiOJ^-ESSGi^  D-F  ■mm^B'&W  -IJ?  TALE  COLLEGE. 

MetiopolitmfuJj3isJiiiig  Scingianng  Co.HewTarE.. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  509 

said  to  that  body,  "  I  have  no  new  pledges  to  make  to  you,  no  new 
theories  to  advance,  no  new  principles  to  follow.  The  principles  1 
maintain  to-day  I  have  maintained  always.  They  are  as  old  as 
Jefferson's." 

General  Whitney  was  bitterly  taken  to  task  for  refusing  to  reemploy 
armorers  who  had  applauded  Dr.  Chaffee's  course  in  opposing  the  use 
of  United  States  troops  in  suppression  of  the  Kansas  freesoilers. 
This  was  used  as  a  Fremont  cry  in  the  town  with  some  effect. 

At  one  of  the  largest  Fremont  gatherings  in  this  memorable  cam- 
paign, Mr.  Patterson,  fresh  from  the  Missouri,  exhibited  on  the 
platform  the  very  chain  with  which  John  Brown  was  led  for  thirty 
miles  in  a  hot  sun  after  his  capture.  Its  claukings  touched  a  cord, 
and  the  City  Hall  was  thundrous  with  emotion. 

One  hundred  women  had  formed  a  sewing  club  with  Mrs.  George 
Bliss  president  and  Mrs.  Charles  Merriam  treasurer,  for  the  purpose 
of  preparing  clothing  for  the  emigrants  there.  The  first  meeting  was 
held  in  the  Unitarian  Chapel,  and  pins  and  needles  were  enlisted  for 
the  cause. 

But  the  decree  of  the  nation  was  for  Buchanan  and  democracy. 
Springfield's  share  was  small.  Mr.  Beach  polled  about  40,000  to 
over  92,000  for  Gardner,  the  Fremont  candidate  for  governor.  Con- 
gressman Chaffee  was  triumphantly  returned  to  his  seat.  The 
Fillmore  ticket  flatted  out.  Homer  Foot,  the  candidate  for  lieutenant- 
governor,  ran  over  8,000  ahead  of  the  Fillmore  ticket.  W.  S.  Shurt- 
left",  Fremont  candidate  for  register  of  insolvency,  ran  about  4,000 
votes  ahead  of  H.  B.  Lewis,  in  Springfield,  and  was  elected.  The 
Fremonters  elected  as  Representatives  Henry  A'ose,  Eliphalet  Trask. 
Daniel  L.  Harris,  and  John  H.  P\iller. 

If  Springfield,  by  the  incident  of  John  Brown's  wool  agency,  was 
connected  by  special  and  local  ties  to  the  Kansas  embroglio,  an  odd 
incident  linked  her  with  the  equally  famous  Dred  Scott  decision. 
This  negro  and  his  family  had  been  the  slaves  of  Dr.  Emerson,  a 
United   States   Army   surgeon.     After    Dr.   Emerson's   death,    Dred 


510  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

Scott  brought  suit  against  John  F.  A.  Sauford,  the  administrator  of 
tiie  estate,  cLaiming  that  he  and  his  family  had  been  carried  across 
the  border  of  the  slave  region  into  Illinois  and  Missouri,  and  still 
compelled  to  suffer  a  slave's  burden.  The  decision  of  the  United 
States  Supreme  Court  upon  this  question  amounted  to  nothing  short  of 
nationalizing  slavery,  and  its  announcement  was  reall}"  the  beginning 
of  the  slaveholders'  rebellion,  as  Northern  revulsion  from  this  politi- 
cal theory  and  princple  was  deep  and  unalterable. 

Mrs.  P^merson,  the  owner  of  Dred  Scott,  had  married,  after  the 
doctor's  death.  Congressman  Chaffee,  of  this  town,  and  Mr.  Sanford, 
the  administrator  of  the  Emerson  estate,  was  the  brother  of  Mrs. 
Chaffee,  nee  Emerson.  Mr.  Chaffee's  political  enemies  were  not  slow 
in  piling  the  dry  fagots  of  insinuation  under  his  reputation  and  light- 
ing a  blaze.  He  was  charged  with  the  intent  of  making  money  out 
of  the  very  slave  system  which  upon  the  floor  of  Congress  he  had 
condemned.  With  a  twenty  years'  honorable  record  as  an  anti- 
slavery  man,  he  was  compelled  to  den^^  these  strictures,  and  to  say  in 
public,  ''  There  is  no  earthly  consideration  that  could  induce  me  to 
exercise  proprietorship  in  any  human  being  ;  for  I  regard  slavery  as 
a  sin  against  God  and  a  crime  against  man,"  and  he  added,  "•  If,  in 
the  distribution  of  the  estate,  of  which  this  decision  affirms,  these 
human  beings  to  be  put,  it  appears  that  I,  or  mine,  consent  to  receive 
any  part  of  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver,  then,  and  not  till  then,  let  the 
popular  judgment,  as  well  as  the  public  press,  fix  on  me  the  mark  of 
a  traitor  to  my  conscience." 

Dred  Scott  said  that  the  suit  had  cost  him  "  a  heap  o'  trouble,  and 
if  I'd  a  known  it  was  gwine  to  last  so  long  I'd  wouldn't  a  started 
it."  When  the  decision  went  against  him  he  simply  laughed  at  "  de 
fuss  dey  made  dar  in  AYash'nton  'bout  de  old  nigger."  But  the 
North  did  not  laugh.  It  was  a  dark  day  ;  the  Chaffees  did  not  take 
advantage  of  their  decision  and  claim  him  as  their  property.  The 
charge  that  Dr.  Chaffee  did  actually  profit  pecuniarily  by  the  Dred 
Scott    decision   makes  a  further   statement   necessary.     Reuben  A. 


SPRINGFIELD,    2636-1SS6.  511 

Chapman  was  called  iu  by  Dr.  Chaffee  for  advice,  and  he  drew  up 
a  legal  document,  in  the  form  of  a  quit-claim,  of  all  interest,  or  sup- 
posed interest,  in  Scott  and  his  family,  authorizing  Taylor  Bloom, 
of  St.  Louis,  to  draw  up  manumission  papers.  If  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court  had  put  a  further  stamp  of  bondage  upon  this  unfor- 
tunate family  the  historical  paper  signed  by  Mrs.  Chaffee,  Dr.  Chaffee, 
and  Miss  Emerson  expunged  the  mark,  and  the  negroes  continued, 
as  for  years  they  had  practically  been,  free  residents  of  St.  Louis. 

Dr.  Chaffee  was  ignorantly  and  unjustl}'  denounced  from  one  end 
of  the  country  to  the  other  for  this  alleged  traffic  in  human  beings, 
but  the  hue-and-cry  was  of  short  duration.  The  facts  became  known, 
and,  moreover,  the  man  who  liberated  Dred  Scott  stood  on  the  floor 
of  Congress  shortly  afterward,  during  the  Kansas  debate,  and  during 
a  long  and  masterly  argument  spoke  as  follows  :  "  Are  3^ou,  the  con- 
servative slaveholders  of  the  country,  willing  to  alloAV  the  institutions 
of  your  section  to  become  the  cause  and  instrument  of  the  future 
aggrandisement  of  this  administration,  — of  building  up  and  further 
extending  the  power  and  rule  of  the  African  democracy  of  this 
country  who  seek  by  their  policy  to  Africanize  the  productive  indus- 
try of  the  country  ?  I  tell  gentlemen  plainly  that  while  chivalry  once 
had  a  name  and  a  prestige,  yet  in  these  African  democratic  lauds  its 
gold  has  become  dim  and  its  lustre  is  faded ;  and  unless  it  is  speedily 
rescued,  its  glory  will  have  departed  forever.  Sir,  the  civilized  world 
cannot  and  will  not  look  on  complacently  and  see  this  great  and 
monstrous  wrong  consummated  upon  this  people." 

Eliphalet  Trask  accepted,  in  June,  1857,  the  nomination  of  the 
American  State  convention  for  lieutenant-governor  upon  the  Banks 
ticket,  and  in  his  letter  of  acceptance  Mr.  Trask  said  that  he  did  so 
upon  the  belief  that  the  party's  aim  was  to  consolidate  the  American 
and  anti-slavery  sentiment  of  Massachusetts.  Banks  was  also 
nominated  by  the  republicans  a  few  weeks  later  at  Worcester,  but 
Oliver  Warner,  of  Northampton,  was  given  the  second  place  on  the 
ticket.      Mr.  Beach  was  again  the  democratic  standard-bearer.     By 


512  SPRINGFIELD,    16S6~1SS6. 


a  subsequent  arrangement  Mr.  Trask  was  made  the  candidate  for 
lieutenant-governor  on  the  Worcester  ticket,  and  Oliver  Warner  Sec- 
retary of  State.  Springfield  was  also  represented  that  year  by  George 
Walker  on  the  republican  senatorial  ticket,  and  William  L.  Smith, 
his  democratic  opponent,  and  Heman  Smith,  American  candidate,  for 
county  commissioner.  R.  A.  Chapman  supported  the  Banks  ticket, 
and  his  old  partner,  George  Ashmun,  came  out  strong  for  Banks 
also.  Banks  was  elected,  and  so  was  Walker.  In  the  legislative 
contest  Marvin  Chapin  and  Henry  Vose,  republicans,  and  Hiram  Q. 
Sanderson,  democrat,  were  elected. 

The  whole  Banks  ticket  was  renominated  in  1858,  and  reelected. 
So  was  Senator  Walker.  The  most  important  local  item  in  the  No- 
vember election  was  the  defeat  of  William  Hice,  who  for  over  a 
quarter  of  a  century  had  been  register  of  deeds  or  county  treasurer. 
He  was  defeated  by  James  E.  Russell,  democrat.  Mr.  Norton,  a 
son-in-law  of  Mr.  Rice,  withdrew  from  the  office  of  county  treasurer 
at  the  same  time,  so  that  the  change  was  the  more  marked.  Mr. 
Rice  had  been  first  chosen  register  in  1830.  There  were  heard  upon 
all  sides  hearty  tributes  to  Mr.  Rice's  fidelity  and  efficiency  in  the 
public  service,  and  he  was  followed  into  private  life  by  the  honor  and 
respect  of  all.  Mr.  Russell,  who  succeeded  him,  was  for  many  years 
a  conductor  on  the  day  express  between  Boston  and  Springfield,  and 
had  been  the  popular  landlord  of  the  Russell  House.  Mr.  Russell 
always  has  shown  an  intelligent  interest  in  Springfield  history,  and 
he  has  a  fund  of  stories  which  then,  as  now,  was  a  source  of  enter- 
tainment to  his  friends.  One  of  his  best  relates  to  Daniel  Webster, 
who  was  a  passenger  on  the  Boston  &  Albany  Railroad  one  day  when 
Mr.  Russell  was  conductor.  The  distinguished  statesman  lost  his 
hat  out  of  the  window,  and  he  remarked  to  Mr.  Russell  that  he  would 
have  some  trouble  in  i>ettino'  another  lar^e  enouoh.  When  the  train 
stopped  at  Palmer  Mr.  Russell  stepped  off,  and  approaching  Bill 
Childs,  the  station  agent,  who  had  the  largest  head  in  the  county, 
asked,   "  What  will  you  take  for  that  hat?  "     Childs  named  his  price 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  513 

with  a  smile.  Russell  handed  the  astonished  agent  the  money,  seized 
his  hat,  and  carried  it  to  Webster.  It  was  a  perfect  fit.  Daniel 
Webster  still  owes  Mr.  Russell  for  that  hat. 

E.  D.  Beach  refused  to  run  a  fifth  time  for  governor,  and  this 
opened  the  door  for  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  as  the  democratic  standard- 
bearer,  in  the  exciting  elections  of  1859.  Springfield  still  had  a  place 
on  the  ticket,  however,  Stephen  C.  Bemis  being  candidate  for  lieuten- 
ant-governor. A  Stephen  A.  Douglas  resolution,  presented  by  ex- 
^layor  Phelps,  was  tabled  by  the  convention.  General  Whitney  was  in 
those  days  an  active  politician,  and  had  much  to  do  in  pouring  oil 
upon  the  troubled  waters.  He  was  assisted  by  Postmaster  Chapin  in 
the  convention.  The  republicans  put  up  Banks  and  Trask  again,  and 
A.  X.  Merrick  was  made  a  member  of  the  State  Central  Committee. 

At  the  time  of  John  Brown's  attack  upon  Harper's  Ferry,  the  su- 
perintendent of  Harper's  Ferry  was  the  guest  of  j\Iajor  IngersoU  in 
Springfield.  Brown  had  been  in  Springfield  the  year  previous,  and 
was  free  to  talk  to  his  friends  about  running  off  slaves.  While  the 
judicious  urged  caution,  they  could  not  but  pay  him  the  tribute  of  re- 
ligious courage  of  conviction,  and  respected  him  even  in  his  contempt 
of  statute  law.  Men  went  to  the  polls  here  as  in  other  Northern  cities 
ready  to  fight  as  they  voted.  Governor  Banks's  vote  reached  nearly 
to  60,000 ;  Butler  about  35,000,  and  Briggs  (American  whig) 
14,000,  in  round  numbers.  Springfield  elected  Daniel  Gay  and  Rich- 
ard Bliss,  republicans,  and  Ezra  Kimberly,  democrat,  to  the  Legis- 
lature. 

The  republicans  also  had  their  own  way  in  the  city  elections,  elect- 
ing Daniel  L.  Harris  mayor.  Col.  Horace  C.  Lee  also  defeated  Mr. 
Ingraham,  as  clerk,  the  latter  having  held  that  position  in  town  and 
city  for  seventeen  years.  He  had  been  a  faithful,  painstaking  officer, 
but  the  desire  for  a  younger  man  had  asserted  itself.  The  new  board 
of  aldermen  were  Edmund  B.  Haskell,  Erastus  Hayes,  Franklin 
Chamberlain,  John  W.  Hunt,  William  Hitchcock,  John  G.  Capron, 
William  Foster,  and  George  W.  Holt,  —  all  republicans. 


514  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

If  a  man  loves  auother  for  the  qualities  he  himself  has  not,  the 
friendship  between  Reuben  A.  Chapman  and  John  Brown  is  explained, 
for  they  were  not  of  kin  in  any  quality  of  character  save  the  cour- 
age of  conviction  and  the  root-sentiment  of  humanity  and  equal 
rights.  Mr.  Chapman  heard  Mr.  Brown  talk  about  the  negro's 
wrongs,  which  he  had  made  his  own,  collected  Brown's  wool 
bills  for  him,  and  acted  generally  as  legal  adviser.  When  John 
Brown  was  finally  in  the  hands  of  the  law  in  Virginia,  his  first  thought 
was  of  the  cool,  judicious  Reuben  Chapman,  of  Springfield,  and  he 
appealed  to  him  for  legal  assistance  in  the  following  letter,  now  in 
the  hands  of  Mr.  Chapman's  daughter,  Mrs.  T.  M.  Brov^n,  of  this 
city  :  — 

Charlestown,  Jeffer.son  County,-Va., 

October  21,  '59. 
Hon.  Reuben  Chapman,  Springfield,  Mass.  :  — 

Dear  Sir,  — I  am  here  a  prisoner  with  seA'eral  sabre  cuts  in  my  head  and  bay- 
onet stabs  in  my  body.  My  object  in  writing  you  is  to  obtain  able  and  faithful 
counsel  for  myself  and  fellow-prisoners,  five  in  all,  as  we  have  the  faith  of  Vir- 
ginia pledged  tlirougli  her  governor  and  numerous  other  prominent  citizens 
to  give  us  a  fair  trial.  Witliout  we  can  obtain  such  counsel  from  Avithout  the 
slave  States  neither  the  facts  in  our  case  can  come  before  tlie  world,  nor  can  we 
have  the  benefit  of  such  facts  as  might  be  considered  mitigating  in  view  of  otliers 
upon  our  trial.  I  have  money  in  hand  here  to  the  amount  of  $250,  and  personal 
property  sufficient  to  pay  a  most  liberal  fee  to  yourself  or  to  any  suitable  man 
who  will  undertake  our  defense  if  I  can  have  the  benefit  of  said  property.  Can 
you  or  some  otlier  good  man  come  immediately  on  for  the  sake  of  the  young 
men  prisoners  at  least?  My  Avounds  are  doing  well.  Do  not  send  an  ultra  abo- 
litionist.    Very  respectfully  yours, 

JOHN  BKOWN. 

This  letter  was  dictated,  but  is  signed  by  Brown  with  a  firm,  plain 
hand.  Mr.  Chapman  was  about  starting  on  court  business,  and 
could  not  go  to  Virginia,  but  he  gave  his  imprisoned  friend  what 
advice  he  could  by  letter. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  515 

One  caunot  renew  acquaintances  with  tlie  records  of  these  terrible 
times,  —  the  legal  nuirder  of  John  Brown,  the  heart  of  flame  that 
burned  with  patriotic  indignation  in  the  North,  the  natural  apprehen- 
sion for  the  future  that  faded  before  loyalty  and  a  national  sentiment  — 
without  the  deepest  consternation  at  the  political  blindness  that  im- 
pelled President  Buchanan  to  urge  in  his  message  to  Congress  :  "I 
firmly  believe  that  the  events  at  Harper's  Ferry,  by  causing  the  people 
to  pause  and  reflect  upon  the  possible  peril  to  their  cherished  institu- 
tions, will  be  the  means  under  Providence  of  allaying  the  existing 
excitement  and  preventing  further  outbreaks  of  a  similar  character. 
They  will  resolve  that  the  Constitution  and  the  Union  shall  not  be 
endangered  by  rash  counsels,  knowing  that  should  the  silver  cord  be 
loosened  or  the  golden  bowl  be  broken  at  the  fountain,  human  power 
could  never  reunite  the  scattered  and  hostile  fragments." 

So  the  year  1800  drew  on  under  a  lurid  sky.  A  resolve  was  indeed 
made, —  not  the  resolve  of  Buchanan  and  human  slavery,  but  the 
nation's  resolve,  that  the  golden  bowl  should  not  be  broken,  —  and  it 
was  not. 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

1860-1886. 

The  War  and  Politics.  —  Spriugfield  in  the  Chicago  Convention.  —  Lincoln's  Letter  to 
George  Ashmun.  —  City  Politics.  —  Union  Eallies.  —  Activity  in  Eeal  Estate. — Va- 
rious Enlistments.  —  A  Eecoi'd  of  Springfield  Soldiers  who  died  in  Battle  and  in 
Hospital.  — Fires.  — Newspapers.  —  The  Death  of  Samuel  Bowles.  —  His  Character  as 
a  Journalist.  —  Theology  at  Indian  Orchard.  —  Rev.  James  F.  Merriam. 

Daniel  L.  Harris,  republican,  was  mayor  of  Springfield  during 
the  troublous  year  of  1860,  having  beaten  AYilliam  L.  Smith,  demo- 
crat, by  a  vote  of  1,179  to  883.  In  June,  1860,  John  B.  Floyd,  sec- 
retary of  war,  appointed  Col.  I.  H.  AVright  superintendent  of  the 
armory.  He  was  surrounded  b}^  Southern  friends,  and  naturally  ex- 
cited the  suspicion  of  the  loyal  people.  It  would  not  have  been  a 
difiicult  thing  to  blow  up  the  armory.  No  one  suspected  Wright 
himself,  but  he  had  men  about  him  quite  capable  of  it.  In  186-4  an 
attempt  was  actually  made,  but  the  infernal  machine  deposited  in  the 
main  arsenal  w^as  discovered  in  time  to  prevent  an  explosion.  AVright 
had  been  here  but  a  few  weeks  Avhen  a  self-constituted  committee  of 
citizens  watched  the  armory  closely  in  order  to  frustrate  the  designs 
of  any  Southern  agents  or  spies.  "  There  is  the  slavery  question,"  ex- 
claimed Carl  Schurz,  at  Hampden  Hall,  in  January,  1860,  —  "  not  a 
mere  occasional  quarrel  between  two  sections  of  a  country  di\Hded  by 
a  geographical  line,  not  a  mere  contest  between  two  economical  in- 
terests for  the  preponderance,  not  a  mere  wrangle  between  two  politi- 
cal parties  for  power  and  spoils,  —  but  the  great  struggle  between 
the  human  conscience  and  a  burning  wrong,  between  advancing 
civilization  and  retreating  barbarism."  Thus  was  the  grand  issue 
made  up  in  spite    of    the    efforts   of    some  to  foist  a  constitutional 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


517 


hypothesis  into  prominence  by  pleading  the  doctrine  of  extreme 
State  rights. 

We  have  no  space  to  deal  with  the  multitudinous  incidents  that 
added  to  the  local  tension  of  the  year  1860,  —  the  private  gatherings 
of  loyal  citizens,  the  personal  encounters  of  political  enemies,  the 
feuds  that  disturbed  clubs,  churches,  nay,  even  the  family  itself. 
A  copy  of  the  ' '  Springfield 
Eepubliean "  mailed  to  a 
man  in  Georgia  was  re- 
turned by  the  post-office 
department,  stamped  "  In- 
cendiary document." 

In  making  up  the  list  of 
delegates  to  the  Chicago 
national  republican  conven- 
tion that  was  destined  to 
nominate  Abraham  Lincoln 
for  President,  in  May, 
1860,  the  name  of  George 
Ashmun  was  proposed  ;  but 
the  latter  considered  him- 
self in  permanent  political 
retirement.  He  finally  con- 
sented to  go,  however,  pro- 
vided Governor  Trask  would 

accompany  him.  Even  then,  he  did  not  agree  to  sit  in  the  convention. 
Samuel  Bowles,  whose  organizing  genius  came  into  play  when  a  po- 
litical or  patriotic  sentiment  moved  him  from  the  strict  path  of 
journalism,  had  gone  on  with  a  large  Massachusetts  delegation  before 
Ashmun  and  Trask  had  perfected  their  arrangements.  The  latter 
overtook  them  at  Niagara  Falls.  During  the  journey  Mr.  Bowles 
hit  upon  the  idea  of  presenting  George  Ashmun  as  the  candidate  of 
Massachusetts  for  permanent  president  of   the  convention.     It  was 


V 


w^^ 


Entrance  to  U.S.  Armory. 


518  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

thoroughly  talked  up  ou  the  train.  The  delegates  began  instinctively 
to  treat  Mr.  Ashmun  as  the  coming  man,  and  thus  it  was  that  the 
eloquent  advocate  of  Webster,  Springfield's  fallen  whig  leader,  started 
West  as  an  almost  unwilling  spectator,  and  arrived  at  Chicago  the  rep- 
resentative man  from  Massachusetts.  The  great  wigwam,  designed 
by  Architect  Boyington,  — formerly  a  resident  of  Springfield,  bj'  the 
way,  —  was  thronged  with  an  excited  crowd.  The  Massachusetts 
plan  was  at  once  laid  before  the  leaders  of  the  party.  "  Slaver}^  is 
sectional ;  freedom  is  national !  "  exclaimed  David  Wilmot,  of  Penn- 
sylvania, the  temporar}^  chairman,  and  shortly  afterward  the  conven- 
tion gave  six  tremendous  cheers  as  the  old  Springfield  whig  was 
conducted  by  Carl  Schurz  and  Preston  King  to  the  chair,  the  per- 
manent president-elect.  Mr.  Ashmun's  speech  was  short  but  warm, 
with  something  of  his  old  oratory. 

Mr.  Bowles  accompanied  Mr.  Ashmun  and  the  committee  of  the 
convention  to  Springfield,  111.,  to  deliver  to  Mr.  Lincoln  the  great 
message  of  the  party.  Mr.  Bowles  stood  near  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Mr. 
Ashmun  while  they  were  making  their  formal  speeches,  and  after  the 
ceremou}^  he  wrote  of  Mr.  Lincoln:  "His  face,  which  in  repose 
seemed  of  bronze,  was  at  the  instant  of  speaking  lighted  up  by  an 
unmistakable  fire  of  intelligence  ;  and  as  soon  as  it  was  subsequently 
relaxed  b}^  the  gentle  and  rapid  question  and  reply  of  conversation, 
the  warmth  of  a  great  heart  shone  out  of  every  feature." 

Some  debate  having  arisen  in  the  papers  about  Mr.  Lincoln's  first 
name,  he  sent  Mr.  Ashmun  the  following  letter :  — 

Sprixgfield,  III.,  June  4,  1860. 
Hon.  George  Ashmcx  :  — 

My  Dear  Sir,  —  It  seems  as  if  the  question  whether  my  first  name  is  "  Abra- 
ham" or  "  Abram"  will  never  be  settled.  It  is  "  Abraham,"  and  if  the  letter  of 
acceptance  is  not  yet  in  print,  you  may,  if  you  think  fit,  liaA-e  my  signature  thereto 
printed  "  Abraham  Lincoln."     Exercise  your  judgment  about  this. 

Yours,  as  ever, 

A.  Lincoln. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6.  519 

But  Mr.  Ashinun  had  still  an  important  service  to  peiforni  after 
Mr.  Lincoln's  election.  Thousands  of  men  were  waiting  to  hear 
from  Stephen  A.  Douglas.  Mr.  Ashmun  was  a  friend  of  both.  It 
fell  upon  him  to  make  the  convincing  appeal  to  ]Mr.  Douglas's  patriot- 
ism. It  was  a  long  struggle.  The  two  men  debated  until  late  at 
night ;  and  when  at  length  Douglas  determined  to  stand  by  the 
Lincoln  administration,  he  urged  Ashmun  not  to  wait  until  morning, 
but  to  hasten  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  who  learned  it  before  he  slept,  and  the 
[)apers  of  the  land  had  it  the  next  morning.  It  is  a  fact  that  has 
escaped  notice  that  Mr.  Douglas  stood  immediately  back  of  Lincoln 
on  the  platform  during  the  delivery  of  his  inaugural  address,  and  held 
the  President's  tall  hat  for  him,  as  tiiere  was  no  place  to  put  it. 

Mr.  Lincoln  w\as  just  starting  for  P'ord's  Theatre  on  the  fatal  night 
when  Mr.  Ashmun  called.  He  pencilled  on  his  knee  as  he  was  about 
to  take  the  carriage  the  following  note  :  — 

Allow  Mr.  Aslimuu  and  friend  to  come  in  at  nine  A.M.  to-morrow. 

A.     LiNCOLX. 

Judge  C.  P.  Daly,  of  Xew  York. 

This  note,  tlie  last  Avords  written  by  Abraham  Lincoln,  is  now  in 
the  possession  of  George  A.  ]Morton,  of  this  city,  who  also  has  Lin- 
coln's letter  accepting  his  first  nomination  for  the  presidency. 

Ashmun's  old  law  partner,  Reuben  A.  Cliapman,  Avas  chosen  a 
Lincoln  presidential  elector.  He  had  received  a  handsome  vote  for 
attorney-general  in  the  republican  convention  which  nominated  John 
A.  Andrew  for  governor  ;  but  a  better  position  was  open  to  him, 
and,  in  October,  1860,  he  Avas  duly  qualified  judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court. 

The  Massachusetts  democrats  turned  to  K.  D.  ]>each  once 
more  for  governor.  The  Bell  and  Everett  convention  put  Henry 
Morris  on  its  ticket  as  attorney-general.  Stephen  C.  Bemis  Avas  a 
Douglas  and  Joiu^son  elector,  and  Chester  W.  Chapin  a  Breckinridge 
and   Lane   elector.     Homer  Foot  was  a   councillor  on  the  Douglas 


520  SPRINGFIELD,    16S6-18S6. 

ticket,  and  J.  AV.  Crook  a  councillor  on  the  Breckinridge  ticket. 
Springfield  also  furnished  these  candidates  in  that  famous  campaign  : 
State  Senate  :  O.  A.  Seamans  (Douglas)  ;  Luther  Upton  (Breckin- 
ridge) ;  Timoth}^  W.  Carter  (republican).  Representatives:  Samuel 
Smith,  Dennis  Hubbard,  and  Henry  Reynolds  (Breckinridge)  ;  Will- 
iam B.  Calhoun,  Simeon  Newell,  and  Oliver  Bannon  (republican). 
County  commissioner,  William  Pynchon  (Douglas) . 

The  Springfield  AVide-awakes  organized  with  Hosea  C.  Lombard  as 
captain,  and  A.  X.  Merrick,  C.  R.  Ladd,  A.  G.  Sinclair,  George  S. 
Haskell,  Henry  S.  Lee,  and  A.  J.  Plummer,  the  executive  committee. 
At  a  grand  Wide-awake  meeting  in  Springfield,  in  September,  Henrj' 
Wilson  said,  ''  On  the  slavery  question  the  democratic  party  has 
divided ;  the  head  is  with  Breckinridge  in  the  South ;  the  tail  is 
floatino'  round  with  Dougias  at  the  North." 

In  spite  of  the  stress  of  national  politics  the  city  went  democratic 
a  few  weeks  after  the  general  election.  The  first  election  was  a  tie, 
]\Layor  Daniel  L.  Harris,  republican,  and  Stephen  C.  Bemis,  democrat, 
receiving  each  889  votes.  The  contest  was  not  strictly  political,  the 
question  of  free  rum  having  come  to  the  surface.  Mr.  Bemis  secured 
a  majority  of  90  at  the  second  election,  December  19. 

Mr.  Harris  had  made  a  courageous,  business-like  mayor.  He  was 
in  no  sense  a  politician.  If  he  had  looked  to  political  preferment 
with  the  care  he  showed  in  securing  a  favorable  balance-sheet  for 
the  city  during  his  administration,  his  reelection  would  probably  have 
been  assured.  Springfield  entered  the  war  period  with  growing  demo- 
cratic procli^^ties.  Henry  Alexander,  Jr.,  who  was  probably  one  of 
the  best  political  managers  of  that  day,  was  pitted  unsuccessfully 
against  ]\Iayor  Bemis  in  1861.  The  condition  of  the  police  depart- 
ment was  tlie  local  issue  in  that  campaign.  S.  B.  Spooner,  Jr.,  was 
elected  clerk  and  treasurer  without  opposition.  Col.  James  M. 
Thompson  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate  in  November,  and 
Theodore  Stebbins,  William  L.  Smith,  and  Nathaniel  Howard,  to  the 
Legislature.     Postmaster  Chapin  retired  in  May,  after   eight  years' 


SPR  TNG  FIEL  />.     7  636-1 8S6. 


521 


faithful  service,  and  was  succeeded  by  William  Stowe,  who  was  at 
that  time  clerk  of  the  Massachusetts  House  of  Representatives. 

Capt.  George  Dwight  superseded  Colonel  Wright  as  superintendent 
of  the  armory  in  the  spring  of  1S61. 

The  time  had  now  come  for  the  expression  of  substantial  patriot- 
ism, and  the  sons  of  Springfield  forgot  their  party  differences  in  the 
common  cause.  The  War  Department,  just  before  the  storming  of 
Fort  Sumter,  ordered  away  from  Springfield  a  lot  of  guns,  an  act 
that  roused  a  deep  feeling  of  resentment.  Dr.  C.  C.  Chaffee  was 
consulted  as  to  the  best  plan  to  pursue,  and  he  intimated  that  it 
would  take  a  long  time  to  pack  those  guns  properly.  The  hint  was 
taken.  The  slowest  workmen  were  detailed  to  box  the  weapons. 
The  impatient  authorities  repeatedly  asked  why  the  arms  had  not 
been  shipped.  That  boxing  job  was  not  finished  until  the  "  boys  in 
blue  "  were  ready  to  nse  them. 


Thk  Old  County  Jail. 


522  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6. 

Judge  R.  A.  Chapman  called  to  order  the  first  grand  war  rally  in 
Springfield,  in  April,  18G1.  "I  believe,"  he  exclaimed,  with  an 
animation  quite  uncommon  with  him, — "  I  believe  in  nothing  but  the 
unconditional  surrender  of  the  rebels.  I  would  have  that,  or  hang 
every  man  of  them."  Mayor  Bemis  presided  at  this  meeting.  A 
large  glee  club  of  patriotic  men  and  women  furnished  the  music. 
The  statel}^  and  venerable  William  B.  Calhoun  offered  the  resolutions, 
and  William  L,  Smith  was  the  first  to  support  them,  with  the  senti- 
ment that  the  government  should  and  would  "  go  through  Baltimore 
to  Washington."  This  committee  of  finance  and  information  was 
appointed  :  James  M.  Thompson,  John  L.  King,  Charles  L.  Shaw, 
Henry  Alexander,  Jr.,  F.  A.  Barton,  and  George  R.  Townsley. 

The  city  government  promptly  voted  $30,000  for  volunteers. 
Springfield  was  an  active  place,  and  the  whole  community  kept  a 
close  eye  on  government  property.  A  Boston  reporter  came  up  to 
Springfield  to  see  the  Desmarteau  hanging  in  the  spring  of  1861  at 
the  jail,  and  he  was  overhauled  upon  suspicion  of  being  a  spy. 
Strangers  were  seen  prowling  about  the  water-shops,  and  a  sentry 
sent  a  ball  whistling  b}^  their  ears. 

Otis  Childs  was  appointed  United  States  deputy  marshal  and  Will- 
iam L.  Smith  United  States  commissioner.  In  June,  1861,  Hampden 
park  was  turned  into  a  military  camp.  There  was  the  usual  friction 
between  the  raw  recruit  and  the  mess-room.  One  hundred  volunteers 
mutinied  on  account  of  inferior  rations,  but  Lieutenant  Lombard's 
company  prevented  their  running  the  guard. 

On  the  last  Sunda}^  in  June  Dr.  Tiffan3^'s  Unitarian  church  was 
flooded  with  soldiery.  Muskets  were  stacked  before  the  pulpit  and 
decorated  with  flowers.  The  sacred  edifice  shook  with  the  thunderous 
strains  of  the  "  Star-Spangled  Banner,"  and  Dr.  Tiffany's  sermon 
was  pitched  upon  that  deep,   patriotic  key. 

The  matrons  and  sisters  of  this  community  were  soon  enlisted  in 
the  work  of  contributing  to  the  comfort  and  convenience  of  the 
soldiers.     It  was  a  time  for  picking  lint,  knitting  mittens,  and  fur- 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-J8S6.  523 

nisliing;  extra  clothino; ;  and,  after  the  solemn  farewells,  this  service 
of  the  home  groups  made  ver^^  touching  pictures. 

The  destruction  of  the  Harper's  Ferry  aruKny  left  the  Springfield 
arsenal  the  main  resource  of  the  government  for  a  time.  Superin- 
tendent Dwight  was  tin-ning  out  three  thousand  five  hundred  muskets 
per  month,  some  of  the  depai'tments  runnmg  the  full  twenty-four 
hours.  The  large  arsenal,  emptied  of  arms,  was  fitted  up  for  a  work- 
shop. The  new  fence  about  the  armory  grounds  was  completed  in 
the  autumn.  The  material  was  secured  from  condemned  cannon. 
Superintendent  Dwight  was  superseded  by  Capt.  A.  B.  Dyer, 
U.S.A.,  in  August,  18G1,  in  accordance  with  a  vote  of  Congress  for 
military  men  as  superintendents.  Captain  Dyer  held  his  position 
until   1864. 

About  one  hundred  and  fifty  small  dwelling-houses  were  put  up  in 
Springfield  in  1862.  D.  AV.  Barnes  built  the  Main-street  block  bear- 
ing his  name.  Day  &  Jobson  added  a  block  above  the  depot. 
Wilkinson  &  Cummings  built  near  the  corner  of  Main  and  Taylor 
streets.  Private  residences  were  erected  by  William  Gunu,  Gurden 
Bill,  Dr.  Holland,  T.  M.  Walters,  Dr.  Brooks,  and  many  others. 
The  present  court-house  was  built  in  1874.  The  appearance  of  the 
river  has  been  much  changed  since  the  building  of  tlie  iron  railroad 
bridge  in  1873,  the  north  end  bridge  in  1877,  and  the  south  end 
bridge  in  1878.  With  the  opening  of  the  latter  the  career  of  the 
ferry-boat  "Agawam  "  came  to  an  end. 

The  Springfield  banks  suspended  specie  payment  in  January,  1862, 
in  accordance  with  a  general  movement.  They  were  doing  a  good 
business,  however. 

In  the  fall  of  1862  Henry  Alexander,  Jr.,  was  elected  mayor  over 
Willis  Phelps,  democrat.  A.  T.  Folsom  did  not  get  the  republican 
nomination  for  city  clerk,  but  the  democrats  accepted  him,  and  he 
was  elected.  Mr.  P'olsom  has  proved  by  long  and  faithful  service 
one  of  Springfield's  l)est  clerks.  He  overhauled  and  filed  the  docu- 
ments and  loose  papers  of  that    office,  and  after  months  of   dreary 


524  SPRINGFIELD,    2636-1886. 

sorting  the  papers  were  put  in  packages  and  boxes  in  chronological 
aucl  topical  order.  To  Mr.  Folsom's  methods  and  industry  is  due 
the  present  admirable  condition  of  the  city  clerk's  office. 

The  local  canvass  of  the  autumn  of  1863  was  very  much  mixed  in 
reference  to  representatives.  The  attempt  to  return  Trask,  Harris, 
and  Mosely  to  the  Legislature  failed.  In  Ward  4  Warner  C. 
Sturtevant,  republican,  and  E.  W.  Bond,  democrat,  were  tied. 
Daniel  L.  Harris  ran  in  AVard  o  as  an  independent  republican,  and 
Titus  Amadou,  republican,  was  elected  in  Ward  6.  Sturtevant  was 
subsequently  elected.  In  the  city  elections,  a  few  weeks  later,  ex- 
Mayor  Bemis  undertook  to  take  the  mayoralty  away  from  Henry 
Alexander,  Jr.,  and  failed  to  do  it,  by  five  hundred  votes.  Mayor 
Alexander  had  favored  macadamized  streets  and  more  school- 
houses,  and  as  there  was  a  bolt  in  the  republican  ranks,  led  by  D.  L. 
Harris,  Mr.  Alexander's  reelection  was  a  genuine  triumph.  The 
aldermen  elected  were :  N.  W.  Talcott,  William  Patton,  X.  I). 
Briggs,  F.  H.  Harris,  Charles  Barrows,  W.  H.  Wilkinson,  Virgil 
Perkins,  and  H.  E.  Mosely. 

William  S.  Shurtleff  was  appointed  judge  of  the  Court  of  Probate 
and  Insolvency  in  the  place  of  Judge  John  Wells,  resigned,  in  Sep- 
tember, 1863.  Mr.  Shurtleff  had  made  a  good  record  as  register  of 
the  court  for  several  years.  We  will  speak  presently  of  his  connuand 
of  the  Forty-sixth  Regiment,  which  had  just  left  the  ser\ice. 
Samuel  B.   Spooner  succeeded  Shurtleff  as  register. 

A.  D.  Briggs,  republican,  was  elected  mayor  in  1864  without  op- 
position. Henry  Alexander,  Jr.,  was  elected  State  senator,  and 
Horace  J.  Chapin,  Charles  A.  Winchester,  and  L.  H.  Taylor  were 
sent  to  the  Legislature.  A.  X.  Merrick  was  elected  county  commis- 
sioner, Charles  R.  Ladd,  county  treasurer,  and  James  12.  Russell, 
register  of  deeds. 

Lewis  H.  Taylor,  a  "  prof  under,"  made  an  unsuccessful  attempt 
in  1865  to  prevent  Mayor  Briggs's  reelection  ;  and  Willis  Phelps  was 
quite  as  unsuccessful,  the  next  year,  to  prevent   a  third  term  for  Mr. 


SPBINGFTELD,    1636-1SS6. 


525 


Briggs,  wlio  commanded  the  general  confidence  of    the  business  com- 
munity, and  he  was  also  a  man  of  substantial  personal  qualities. 

The  Baptists  held  a  semicentennial  celebration  in  May,  1861. 
The  Baptist  Church  was  organized  in  1811,  at  the  residence  of  Solo- 
mon Cliapin,  at  the  water-shop,  with  nineteen  members.  The  first 
edifice  was  built  in  1821,  near  the  water-shops.  Rev.  Allen   Hough, 


Agawam  "  Ferry-Boat, 


pastor;  the  second,  at  the  corner  of  Maple  and  Mulberr}^  streets,  in 
1830  ;  and  the  third,  on  Main  street,  was  dedicated  in  1847.  In  1861 
Dr.  Ide  was  the  Baptist  apostle  m  these  parts. 

Three  full  regiments  were  organized  at  Springfield  during  the  War 
of  the  Rebellion.  The  Tenth  Massachusetts  Volunteers  was  one 
of  the  first  enlisted,  and  mustered  for  three  years'  service.  It  was 
composed  almost  entirely  of  the  militia  companies  of  western  Mas- 
sachusetts, reorganized  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  national  ser- 
vice.    It  encamped  on  Hampden   park,  the  first   companies  arriving 


526  SPBIXGFIELD,    163G-1S86. 

on  the  31st  of  May,  1861,  the  others  following  within  a  few  days. 
The  Springfield  City  Guard  formed  one  of  the  companies,  and  in  the 
organization  of  the  regiment  was  known  as  Company  F.  Its  officers 
were  :  Captain,  Hosea  C.  Lombard  ;  1st  lieutenant,  Hiram  A.  Keith  ; 
2d  lieutenant,  George  W.  Bigelow.  The  other  officers  of  the  regiment 
from  Springfield  were  :  1st  lieutenant  and  adjutant,  Oliver  Edwards  : 
chaplain.  Rev.  Frederick  A.  Barton ;  captains,  Frederick  Barton, 
Joseph  K,  Newell,  George  W.  Bigelow,  Homer  G.  Gilmore,  and 
Edwin  L.  Knight ;  1st  lieutenants,  Byron  Porter,  L.  Oscar  Eaton,  Ed- 
win B.  Bartlett,  and  Levi  Ross  ;  2d  lieutenants,  James  Knox,  Henry 
E.  Crane.  In  the  non-commissioned  staff  were  E.  K.  Wilcox  and 
Roslin  AY.  Bowles,  serving  as  sergeant-majors.  Lieutenant  Bartlett 
was  killed  on  the  18th  of  ^May,  1804,  at  Spottsylvania.  The  regi- 
ment was  reviewed  by  Governor  Andrew  and  staff  on  the  lOtli  of  July, 
and  five  days  later  was  presented  with  State  and  national  colors  of 
unusual  magnificence  by  the  ladies  of  Springfield  ;  Mrs.  Barnes,  the 
v,^ife  of  Gen.  James  Barnes,  making  the  presentation. 

Next  day  the  regiment  took  cars  for  Medford,  where,  in  Camp 
Adams,  on  the  Mystic  river,  it  found  very  agreeable  quarters,  in 
which,  perfecting  itself  in  drill  and  discipline,  it  remained  till  the 
25th,  when  it  left  the  State  for  Washington. 

The  Twenty-seventh  Regiment  was  made  up  from  the  four  western 
counties  of  the  State,  under  the  call  for  five  new  regiments,  issued 
the  1st  of  September,  1861,  which  later  formed  the  Massachusetts 
quota  of  the  "  Burnside  Expedition."  The  duty  of  recruiting  and 
organizing  the  command  was  assigned  to  Horace  C.  Lee,  of  Spring- 
field, who  had  had  large  experience  in  militia  matters.  He  had  just 
before  been  offered  the  lieutenant-colonelc}^  of  the  Twentj^-first  Regi- 
ment, then  in  camp  at  Worcester.  Accepting  instead  the  wider  field  of 
usefulness,  Mr.  Lee  caused  recruiting  offices  to  be  opened  in  ten  of 
the  principal  towns  of  the  district  on  the  10th,  and  in  a  few  days 
several  of  the  companies  were  well  filled ;  and  Camp  Reed,  at  Spring- 
field, —  so  named  in  honor  of  Quartermaster-General  Reed,  of  Massa- 


SPEnVG  FIELD,    IGSG-ISSS.  527 

cliusetts,  — situated  a  mile  east  of  the  national  armory,  was  appointed 
as  the  phiee  of  rendezvous.  Two  companies  arrived  on  the  19th, 
others  followed  in  a  day  or  two,  and  the  regiment  rapidly  took  form, 
the  last  of  the  companies  reporting  on  the  24th. 

In  the  organization  of  the  regiment  Springfield  furnished  the  fol- 
lowing officers  :  Colonel,  Horace  C.  Lee  ;  surgeon,  George  A.  Otis  ;  cap- 
tains, Gustavus  A.  Fuller,  AV alter  G.  Bartholomew,  and  Horace  K. 
Cooley ;  1st  lieutenants,  John  W.  Trafton,  Peter  S.  Bailey,  Ed- 
ward K.  Wilcox,  and  George  Warner ;  2d  lieutenant,  W.  Chapman 
Hunt.  Ira  B.  Sampson,  William  A.  White,  and  William  H.  Cooley 
were  subsequently  commissioned  second  lieutenants  in  the  regiment. 
Many  of  the  line  officers  received  promotion,  Captain  Bartholomew 
becoming  lieutenant-colonel.  Edward  K.  Wilcox,  having  attained  the 
rank  of  captain,  was  killed  at  Cold  Harbor  on  the  3d  of  June.  He 
was  at  the  time  on  staff  duty,  but  seeing  his  regiment  about  to  en- 
gage in  a  desperate  charge  on  the  enemy's  works,  he  sprang  in  front 
of  the  line,  cheering  them  forward,  but  meeting  a  soldier's  fate  in 
the  act  of  scaling  the  enem3^'s  works. 

The  regiment  was  reviewed  on  the  1st  of  November  by  Governor 
Andrew,  and  the  next  day  camp  was  broken,  a  train  of  twenty- 
one  cars  taking  the  command  westward  over  the  Boston  &  Alban}^ 
Railroad  at  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

The  Forty-sixth  Regiment,  recruited  for  the  nine  months'  service, 
in  the  autumn  of  1862,  was  composed  of  Hampden  county  men, 
and  gathered  at  Camp  N.  P.  Banks  during  September  and  October, 
the  camp  being  commanded  by  Colonel  Walker,  of  Spring- 
field. Company  A  was  a  Springfield  organization,  and  was  officered 
by  Capt.  Samuel  B.  Spooner,  1st  Lieut.  Lewis  A.  Tifft,  and 
2d  Lieut.  Daniel  J.  Marsh.  It  was  in  some  respects  a  notable 
organization,  being  largely  made  up  of  young  business  men  of  the 
city. 

Another  company  was  organized  in  the  summer  of  1864  for  the 
one  hundred   days'    service,  and    was    attached    to   the   Forty-sixth 


528  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

Massachusetts  Regiment  as  Company  A,  having  as  officers  Capt. 
Lewis  A.  Tifft,  1st  Lieut.  Gideon  AVells,  2d  Lieut.  Chauucey 
Hickox,  all  of  Springfield. 

William  S.  Shurtletf  went  out  as  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Forty- 
sixth,  becoming  colonel  in  January,  1863,  on  the  resignation  of 
Colonel  Bowser.  In  fact,  the  regiment  was  under  his  command  dur- 
ing most  of  its  term  of  service,  and  to  his  ability  owed  much  of  its 
excellent  reputation.  Colonel  Shurtleff  was  well  qualified  to  have 
filled  a  position  of  greater  importance.  He  enlisted  as  a  private  in 
Compan}^  A,  Forty-sixth  Regiment,  was  chosen  first  lieutenant  on  the 
organization  of  the  company,  was  made  lieutenant-colonel  before  taking 
the  field,  and  colonel  upon  the  resignation  of  Colonel  Bowler.  At  the 
time  of  his  promotion  Captain  Spooner  was  made  major.  Ilenr}'  M. 
Morehouse,  of  Springfield,  was  quartermaster  during  the  fegiment's 
service.  The  regiment,  being  filled  to  its  maximum,  was  ordered  on 
the  1st  of  November  to  prepare  for  departure,  and  left  on  the  5th  for 
Boston,  whence  it  at  once  sailed  for  North  Carolina. 

The  Thirty-seventh  Regiment,  although  organized  at  Pittsfield,  drew 
largely  from  Springfield  for  its  officers  and  men.  Company  I  being 
wholly  and  Company  K  largely  recruited  from  the  city.  Of  its 
officers.  Col.,  afterward  Gen.,  Oliver  Edwards,  Maj.  Eugene  A. 
Allen,  Capts.  Hugh  Donnelly,  John  B.  Mailoy,  George  B.  Chandley, 
Francis  E.  Gra}^,  1st  Lieuts.  AVilliam  A.  Calhoun,  J.  Newton 
Fuller,  Charles  Phelps,  and  James  O'Connor,  and  2d  Lieuts. 
Michael  Harrigan,  Robert  A.  Gray,  and  Joseph  Follausbee  were 
from  Springfield.  The  last  named  was  the  only  one  of  this  number 
to  die  in  service,  he  being  mortally  wounded  in  the  battle  of  the 
Wilderness.  On  its  return  from  service  after  the  close  of  the  war 
this  regiment  received  a  fitting  ovation  at  the  City  Hall,  on  its  way  to 
be  mustered  out  at  Readville. 

There  were,  besides,  several  companies  in  other  regiments  princi- 
pally or  largel}- made  up  of  Springfield  men.  Such  was  Company  H, 
of   the  Eighth  Regiment,  which  served  from   Oct.  oO,  1862,  to  Aug. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  529 

7,  1863,  Capt.  George  R.  Davis  and  1st  Lieut.  AYilliam  J.  Landea 
being  from  Springfield,  while  the  enlisted  men  were  about  equally 
divided  between  that  city  and  Boston.  The  same  company,  re- 
organized, went  out  again  for  one  hundred  days,  from  the  20th  of  July 
to  the  10th  of  November,  1864.  Its  commissioned  officers  at  that 
time  were  Capt.  AVilliam  J.  Landen,  1st  Lieut.  Charles  R.  AYood, 
and  2d  Lieut.  John  Thayer,  —  all  of  Springfield.  Company  H,  Forty- 
second  Regiment,  Capt.  George  M.  Stewart,  for  the  one  hundred  days' 
term,  was  recruited  here.  The  Thirteenth  Unattached  Company, 
Heavy  Artillery,  —  afterwards  Company  I,  Third  ^Massachusetts 
Heavy  Artillery,  —  which  served  from  Feb.  10,  1864,  to  Sept.  26, 
1865,  was  made  up  of  Springfield  mechanics,  and  after  joining  the 
Army  of  the  James  served  as  a  special  engineer  corps,  being  in  charge 
of  one  of  the  ponton  trains.  Of  its  otiicers,  Capt.  Oliver  J.  Bixby, 
1st  Lieut.  John  F.  P3.  Chamberlain,  and  2d  Lieut.  Charles  H.  Ladd, 
were  Springfield  men.  The  Thirtieth  Unattached  Company  Heavy 
Artillery,  which  served  from  Sept.  1,  1864,  to  June  16,  1865,  was  raised 
at  Springfield,  the  officers  from  that  city  being  1st  Lieut.  Morrill  Pres- 
cott  and  2d  Lieut.  Samuel  R.  Siskron. 

Of  Springfield  officers  serving  in  other  commands  the  following 
may  be  mentioned:  Col.  James  Barnes,  Surg.  David  P.  Smith, 
Asst.  Surg.  Edwin  F.  Silcox,  Capt.  James  D.  Orne,  and  2d  Lieut. 
John  D.  Isbell  (died  in  service  July  16,  1862),  of  the  Eighteenth 
Regiment;  1st  Lient.  Wells  Willard  (afterward  captain  in  the 
Thirty-fourth),  1st  Lieut.  Asa  PL  Hayward,  and  2d  Lieut.  James  W. 
Hopkins,  of  the  Twenty-first  Regiment ;  1st  Lieuts.  Joseph  L.  Hal- 
lett  and  Frank  A.  Cook  (died  at  Baton  Rouge,  Aug.  6,  I860),  and 
2d  Lieut.  Martin  M.  Pulver,  of  the  Thirty-first  Regiment;  Capt. 
George  W.  Thompson  (killed  in  action,  Sept.  19,  1864),  and  2d 
Lieut.  J.  Austin  Lyman,  of  the  Thirt}^- fourth  Regiment ;  Capt. 
Watson  W.  Bridge,  of  the  Fifty-fourth  Regiment;  Capt.  Robert  J. 
Hamilton  and  1st  Lieut.  Charles  W.  Mutell,  of  the  Fifty-fifth;  Asst. 
Surg.  Jerome  E.   Roberts,  of  the  Fifty-sixth ;   2d   Lieuts.  Henry  B. 


530  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

Fiske  and  George  S.  Greene,  of  the  Fifty-seventh ;  Asst.  Surg. 
Albert  R.  Rice,  of  the  Forty-ninth ;  Capt.  Ira  B.  Sampson,  1st 
Lieuts.  Alfred  H.  Kinsley  and  Horace  L.  Clark,  of  the  Second 
Heavy  Artillery ;  2d  Lieut.  Willard  Holden,  of  the  Third  Heavy 
Artillery ;  Asst.  Surg.  Homer  H.  Warner  and  2d  Lieuts.  Horace  M. 
Butler,  George  Howe,  and  George  D.  Davis,  of  the  First  Cavalry ; 
2d  Lieut.  Henry  M.  Phillips,  of  the  Fourth  Cavalry. 

Brevet  Brig. -Gen.  Horace  C.  Lee  was 'city  clerk  and  treasurer 
of  Springfield  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  Rebellion,  and  his  eminent 
military  capacities,  by  which  he  had  several  years  before  risen  to  the 
rank  of  colonel  and  acting  brigadier  in  the  State  militia,  made  it 
desirable  that  his  services  should  be  secured  for  his  country.  On 
the  23d  of  August,  1861,  he  was  offered  the  second  place  in  the 
field  of  the  Twenty-first  Regiment,  then  being  formed,  and  went  to 
Boston  to  accept  it,  when  he  was  given  authority  to  raise,  in  western 
Massachusetts,  one  of  five  regiments  which  had  just  been  authorized. 
This  he  did ;  and  on  the  20th  of  September  was  commissioned 
colonel  of  the  Twenty-seventh  Regiment,  forming  a  part  of  the  Burn- 
side  expedition  to  North  Carolina.  He  ably  commanded  the  regi- 
ment at  the  battles  of  Roanoke  Island  and  Newbern,  and  until  July  4, 
1862,  when  he  took  connnand  of  the  brigade,  leading  it  in  the  Trenton, 
Tarboro',  and  Goldsboro'  expeditions,  and  winning  praise  for  the  able 
handling  of  his  troops  in  repulsing  General  Clingman's  attack  at  the 
latter  place.  He  Avas  recommended  by  General  Foster  for  promotion 
to  the  rank  of  brigadier ;  but  the  commission  was  not  granted,  on 
account  of  the  number  already  given  to  Massachusetts  officers.  On 
the  departure  of  General  Burnside  he  was  appointed  provost-marshal- 
general  of  North  Carolina,  and,  later,  of  the  Department  of  Virginia 
and  North  Carolina,  and  acted  in  that  capacity  until  the  office  was 
abolished  by  General  Butler,  in  January,  1864.  He  then  served  upon 
conmiissions  and  court-martial  until  the  opening  of  the  campaign,  in 
May  following,  when  he  resumed  command  of  his  regiment,  leading- 
it  at  AValthal  Junction,  Arrowfield  Church,  and  Drewry's  Bluff".     In 


SPRINGFIELD,    16S6~1S86. 


531 


the  latter  engagement  he  was  made  prisoner  with  a  large  portion  of 
his  command,  and  was  confined  in  Libby  prison  and  at  Macon,  Ga. 
From  the  latter  place  he  was  removed,  June  10,  and,  with  many  other 
Union  officers  of  like  rank,  placed  under  the  fire  of  P'ederal  batteries 
at  Charleston,  S.C.     Being  exchanged,  on  the  2d  of  August,  1864, 


Old  Ely  Tavekn  and  Blake  Homestead,  Dwight  Street. 

he  went  North  on  a  month's  furlough,  but  returned  to  Fortress  IMonroe 
in  time  to  intercept  his  regiment,  then  under  orders  for  North  CaroUna, 
and  procured  the  return  to  Massachusetts  of  those  Avhose  time  was 
about  to  expire.  He  was  mustered  out  of  service  with  them,  Septem- 
ber 27,  1864,  and  for  meritorious  service  received  a  well-deserved 
brevet  of  brigadier-general,  dating  from  March  18,  1865.  He  then 
served  four  years  in  the  Boston   Custom-house,  and  twelve  years  as 


532  SPRINGFIELD,    16S6-JS86. 

postmaster  of  Springfield,  dying  June  22,  1884,  soon  after  vacating 
the  latter  office. 

Brevet  Maj.-Gen.  James  Barnes,  of  Springfield,  was  graduated  from 
the  Military  Academ}',  West  Point,  in  the  class  of  1829.  He  passed 
a  year  there  as  assistant  instructor,  took  i)art  in  the  Black  Hawk 
expedition  of  1832,  and  during  the  nullification  controversy,  soon 
after,  was  stationed  at  Charleston  harbor.  He  then  returned  to 
AYest  Point  as  assistant  instructor,  and  served  three  years,  when  he 
resigned  his  commission  in  1836.  He  became  noted  as  a  civil 
engineer  and  a  builder  of  railroads,  and  was  engaged  in  large  business 
enterprises  when  the  war  broke  out.  But  neither  his  business  interests 
nor  his  advancing  age  and  the  comforts  of  home  life  could  stand 
between  this  pure-minded  patriot  and  tlie  service  of  his  country,  and, 
at  the  age  of  fifty-five,  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  July,  1861,  he  was 
commissioned  colonel  of  the  Eighteenth  Massachusetts  Volunteers. 
He  commanded  his  fine  regiment  with  signal  ability  until  after  the  close 
of  the  Peninsular  campaign,  when  he  succeeded  to  the  command  of 
Martindale's  Brigade  of  the  Fifth  Corps,  and,  dating  from  the  29th 
of  November,  1862,  was  promoted  to  brigadier-general  of  volunteers. 
He  was  in  command  of  the  brigade  during  the  Antietam,  Fredericks- 
burg, and  Chancellorsville  campaigns,  and  at  Gettysburg  had  risen 
to  the  command  of  the  First  Di^dsion,  Fiftli  Corps.  Leading  his  com- 
mand to  the  relief  of  the  Union  left,  near  the  close  of  the  second  day's 
battle,  he  was  wounded,  and  did  not  again  return  to  active  duty  in 
the  field.  After  the  battle  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  defences 
at  Norfolk,  Va.,  and  vicinity,  then,  in  succession,  of  St.  Mary's  Dis- 
trict and  the  encampment  of  Confederate  prisoners  at  Point  Lookout, 
Md.,  where  he  remained  till  the  close  of  the  war,  receiving  the  brevet 
of  major-general  of  volunteers,  from  March  13,  1865.  He  remained 
in  commission  until  January  15,  1866,  when  he  was  mustered  out,  and 
returned  to  his  home,  but  never  regained  his  health,  dying  there  on 
the  12th  of  February,  1869. 

Brevet  Maj.-Gen.  Oliver  Edwards   entered  the  service  as  adjutant 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1S86.  533 

of  the  Tenth  Regiment,  but  was  soon  detailed  as  senior  aide  on  the 
staff  of  Gen.  D.  X.  Couch,  commanding  the  division,  in  which  ca- 
pacity he  served  with  distinction  until  earl}^  August,  1863,  when  he 
was  commissioned  major  and  directed  to  organize  the  Thirty-seventh 
Regiment,  of  which  he  was  made  colonel.  He  served  in  that  capac- 
ity until  May  9,  1864,  when  he  vras  given  command  of  his  brigade, 
which  he  retained  from  Spottsylvania  to  Petersburg.  On  the  6th  of 
July  the  renmants  of  the  brigade  were  transferred  to  the  Third  Bri- 
gade, First  Division,  Sixth  Corps,  Edwards  still  retaining  the  com- 
mand, and  with  this  force  he  fought  at  Fort  Stevens  and  Opequan  in 
the  campaign  against  Pearly.  At  the  latter  battle  Edwards  com- 
manded the  division  after  the  death  of  General  Russell  and  the 
wounding  of  General  Upton,  and  in  recognition  Avas  made  post  com- 
mandant at  AVinchester,  with  his  brigade  and  some  other  troops  as 
garrison.  This  position  he  retained  for  some  time  after  the  return  of 
the  Sixth  Corps  to  Petersburg  to  rejoin  the  army  of  the  Potomac, 
and  was  offered  by  General  Sheridan  the  position  of  provost-marshal- 
general  on  his  staff" ;  but  Edwards  preferred  the  command  of  his  old 
brigade,  to  which,  at  his  own  request,  he  was  returned  in  February, 
1865.  In  the  assault  of  April  2,  on  the  lines  at  Petersburg,  his  bri- 
gade took  an  important  part,  being  the  first  to  break  through  the  Con- 
federate works,  and  next  morning  General  Edwards  received  from 
the  mayor  of  Petersburg  the  surrender  of  the  city,  ver^^  soon  after  its 
evacuation  by  General  Lee.  For  his  services  at  this  time  he  re- 
ceived the  commission  of  brigadier-general,  to  date  from  May  19, 
having  been  bre vetted  for  his  gallantry  at  Opequan ;  and  in  the 
sharp  fight  at  Sailor's  Creek,  April  6,  he  won  the  brevet  of  major- 
general.  On  the  15th  of  January,  1866,  he  was  honorabl}^  dis- 
charged from  the  United  States  service. 

The  hospitality  of  the  people  of  Springtield  was  continued  through- 
out the  war.  The  crowning  effort  in  that  direction  Avas  the  great 
Soldiers'  Fair,  held  in  City  Hall,  December  22,  1864.  Avhen  tlie  people 
of  the  city,  joined  by  all  the  neighboring  communities,  made  a  lavish 


534  SPRINGFIELD,    16SG-18S6. 


outpouriDg  of  their  meaus  to  help  carry  on  the  great  work  of  caring 
for  the  sokliers'  needs.  In  this  connection  it  ma}^  be  mentioned  that 
during  the  entire  period  of  the  war  no  body  of  soldiers  was  allowed 
to  pass  through  the  city,  no  matter  whence  they  came,  or  what  their 
destination,  without  receiving  such  food  and  care  as  their  circum- 
stances might  require.  An  especially  notable  incident  of  this  nature 
was  the  passing  through  the  city,  on  the  8th  of  October,  1861,  late  in 
the  evening,  of  the  troops  under  command  of  Senator  Wilson,  con- 
sisting of  the  Twenty-second  Kegiment,  of  which  he  was  colonel,  the 
Third  Batter}^,  and  the  Second  Company  of  Sharpshooters,  —  all  of 
which  had  been  recruited  at  Readville  under  his  personal  supervision. 
The  enlisted  men  were  fed  in  the  cars,  the  oflicers  at  the  Massasoit 
Hotel,  and  from  the  balcony  there  Colonel  Wilson,  introduced  by 
Ma3^or  Bemis,  addressed  the  immense  gathering  of  people,  after 
which  the  train  proceeded  on  its  way. 

The  home  demonstrations  were  uiany  of  them  notable.  On  Wash- 
ington's birthday,  1862,  Mayor  Bemis,  in  the  City  Hall,  produced  the 
rebel  flags  captured  b}-  Colonel  Lee's  regiment  at  Eoanoke  Island. 
Then  Judge  Chapman  read  AVashington's  farewell  address. 

But  the  most  memorable  days  were  those  when  Springfield  wel- 
comed back  from  the  field  of  war  her  broken  regiments. 

The  first  to  return  was  the  Fort^^-sixth  Regiment,  which  after  its  nine 
months'  service  came  back  to  Springfield  on  the  21st  of  July,  1863. 
It  was  welcomed  by  Mayor  Henry  Alexander,  Jr.,  Colonel  Shurtleff 
responding,  and  a  collation  was  served  at  City  Hall,  the  regiment 
being  mustered  out  a  week  later  at  Hampden  park.  It  was  almost  a 
year  before  the  shattered  remnant  of  the  Tenth  Regiment  arrived,  June 
25,  1864,  its  three  years  of  service  having  been  honorably  filled.  It 
received  a  ver^-  enthusiastic  reception  at  Court  square,  being  welcomed 
by  JNIayor  Alexander,  Colonel  Parsons  responding,  and  the  usual  col- 
lation being  furnished  in  City  Hall.  The  Twenty-seventh  came  on 
the  26tli  of  September  following,  and  its  reception  was  of  a  simi- 
lar   nature,    General  Lee    and  Lieutenant  Colonel  Bartholomew  re- 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6.  535 

spoiidiiig  to  the  welcome  by  Mayor  Alexander  and  ex-Mayor  Bemis, 
and  a  hundred  and  fifty  young  ladies  singmg  songs  of  welcome. 
The  Thirty-seventh,  its  period  of  service  ended  by  the  closing  of  the 
war,  passed  through  the  city  on  the  24th  of  June,  1865,  on  its  way  to 
Readville,  to  be  mustered  out;  but  with  Springfield's  pride  in  the 
regiment  it  was  not  allowed  to  pass  without  a  rousing  reception. 
Alderman  N.  A.  Leonard  made  the  speech  of  welcome,  in  the  absence 
of  the  mayor,  General  Edwards  responding,  and  a  collation  follow- 
ing at  the  City  Hall. 

After  the  war  the  fraternal  feelings  of  the  soldiers  of  the  city  and 
vicinity  found  expression  in  the  organization  of  E.  K.  Wilcox  Post, 
No.  16,  Grand  Army  of  the  Kepublic,  on  the  9th  of  August,  1867. 
This  post,  ranking  among  the  largest  and  most  efficient  in  the  State, 
has  remained  the  sole  organization  of  its  kind  in  the  city,  embracing 
also  in  its  field  a  large  number  of  the  surrounding  towns.  It  has  at 
the  present  time  an  active  membership  of  over  five  hundred  members, 
and  is  well  equipped  for  its  work.  Its  commanders  have  been:  H. 
C.  Lee,  L.  A.  Tiftt,  H.  M.  Phillips,  J.  L.  Rice,  S.  C.  Warriner,  E.  A. 
Newell,  A.  H.  Smith,  J.  L.  Knight,  S.  B.  Spooner,  J.  O.  Smith,  E.  W. 
Lathrop,  J.  W.  Hersey,  C.  H.  Allison,  J.  H.  Hendrick,  Charles  H. 
Rust,  and  James  L.  Bowen.  In  connection  with  the  Post  is  an  efficient 
Woman's  Relief  Corps  and  a  prosperous  Camp  of  Sons  of  Veterans. 

We  close  this  record  of  Springfield  in  the  war  with  the  losses  she 
sustained  upon  the  field  of  battle  and  in  the  hospital  and  camp  :  — 

Second  Regiment.  — Henry  0.  Howard,  Company  G,  killed,  Cedar  Mountain; 
George  A.  Smith,  Company  K,  killed.  Cedar  Mountain ;  John  Costello,  Com- 
pany I,  missing,  Antietam ;  Rufus  A.  Parker,  Company  I,  died  of  Avounds, 
Gettysl)urg. 

Ninth  Regiment.  — Francis  Ash,  Company  E,  killed,  Spottsylvania. 

Tenth  Regiment. —JAewt.  E.  B.  Bartlett,  killed,  Spottsylvania;  Alonzo  C. 
Brewer,  Company  D,  killed,  Spottsylvania;  Thomas  F.  Burke.  Company  F,  killed, 
Malvern  Hill;  Thomas  S.  Gleason,  Company  F,  killed.  Fair  Oaks;  Silas  L.  Put- 
nam, Company  F,  killed,  Fredericksburg;  Asa  C.  Merrill,  Company  H,  killed.  Fair 
Oaks;  John  E.  Casey,  Company  I.  killed,  Wilderness;   Sergt.  Alva  C.  Phillips, 


536  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6. 

Company  E,  died  of  wounds,  Gettysburg;  Corp.  Christian  Lortscheve,  Company 
E,  died  of  wounds,  Fair  Oaks;  Cliarles  M.  Hall,  Company  E,  died  of  wounds, 
Marye's  Heights;  George  G.  Strickland,  Company  E.  died  of  wounds,  Xew 
York ;  Elmer  Crawford,  Company  E,  died,  White  House,  Va. ;  Quintain  Jame- 
son, Company  E,  died,  Washington,  D.C  ;  Mark  C.  Barnard,  Company  F,  died, 
Washington,  D.C  ;  Henry  M.  Hunt,  Company  F,  died,  Washington,  D.C. ;  John 
C.  Squires,  Company  I,  died,  Washington,  D.C. 

Eleventh  Regiment. — Leonard  Lewis,  Company  H,  died,  Andersonville. 

Fifteenth  Regiment.  —  George  Walker,  Company  I,  missing.  Ball's  Bluff. 

Eighteenth  Regiment.  — Lieut.  John  D.  Isbell,  died;  Thomas  Donovan,  Com- 
pany A,  killed,  Fredericksburg;  Jackson  W.  Stebbins,  Company  K,  killed, 
second  Bull  Run. 

Nineteenth  Regiment. — Benjamin  B.  Nichols,  Company  G,  died  of  v.'ounds, 
August  U,  1804. 

Twentieth  Regiment.  —  Sergt.  John  T.  Burke,  Company  K,  killed,  June  20, 
1864. 

Twenty-first  Regiment.  — John  Dunn,  Company  B,  died  of  wounds,  May  1, 
1862;  George  W.  Mixter,  Company  B,  killed,  Bethesda  Church;  Daniel  Pine, 
Company  B,  died,  Richmond,  Va. 

Twenty-second  Regiment.  —  Corp.  Eben  B.  Upton,  Company  B,  killed,  Wil- 
derness;  Wesley  Shultz,  Company  G,  died,  Washington,  D.C;  John  Davidson, 
Company  D,  died,  Richmond,  Ya.  ;  William  A.  Hart,  Company  E,  died  of  wounds. 
White  House  Landing. 

Twenty -fourth  Regiment. — Lawrence  Doyle,  Company  D,  died,  Newbern, 
N.C  ;  Timothy  Hayes,  Company  D,  died,  Newbern,  X.C  ;  Frank  C  Brov/n, 
Company  F,  killed,  Xewbern,  X.C. 

Twenty-sixth  Regiment.  —  William  L.  Weston,  Company  B,  died,  Wilming- 
ton, X.C. 

Twenty-seventh  Regiment. — Killed,  Capt.  Edward  K.  Wilcox.  June  3,  1864, 
Cold  Harbor;  Rodolplms  L.  Baker,  Company  E,  Cold  IL'U-bor;  Joseph  Doyle, 
Company  F,  DreAvry's  Bluff;  Reuben  A.  Richards,  Company  F,  Cold  Harbor. 
Died  of  wounds, —  Xathaniel  P.  ^Mauley,  Company  D,  Fort  ^Monroe ;  Frederick; 
Gutberlet,  Company  K,  Washington,  D.C;  Jonathan  D.  Miller,  Company  K, 
Fort  Monroe;  Dennis  Sullivan,  Company  K,  Xewbern.  Died,  — John  Donovan, 
Company  A,  Andersonville;  John  R.  Burgess,  Company  B,  Annapolis;  Alfred 
E.  Manley,  Company  D,  Xewbern;  Edward  G.  Kellogg,  Company  G,  Anderson- 
ville; William  D.  Smith,  Washington;  AYilliam  II.  Davy,  Company  I,  Anderson- 
ville; Sylvester  Oliver,  Company  I,  Washington,  D.C;  Albert  W.  Yaughn, 
Company   1,   Washington,   D.C:     Thomas    C    Allis,    Company  K,    Savannah; 


SPRIXCrFTELD,     16S6-18S6.  537 

Joseph  Day,  Comixiuy  K,  Milieu;  James  B.  Hills,  Company  K,  Newbern ;  John 
McGoAvan,  Company  K,  Andersonville;  Samuel  L.  Sherman,  Company  K,  Aug. 
IS,  1864;  Thomas  Sullivan,  Company  K,  Newbern;  John  M.  Whipple,  Company 
K,  Xewbern.     Missing,  — Kobert  McDonald,  Company  K,  May  16,  1864. 

Ticenty-eighth  Regiment.  — Andrew  Garvey,  Company  H,  died,  Kichmond. 

Twenty-ninth  Regiment.  — Emile  Taubert,  Company  C,  died,  Arlington,  Ya. 

Thirtieth  Regiment.  — AVilliam  Brady,  Company  T,  died,  New  Orleans. 

Thirty-fio'st  Regiment.  —  Sergt.  William  Patch,  Company  G,  died.  New 
Orleans;  Thomas  Agin,  Company  G,  drowned  May  9,  1865. 

Thirty-second  Regiment. — James  A.  Putnam,  Company  G,  died  of  Avounds, 
May  13,  1864;  Jolm  Quinn,  Company  I,  died;  Albert  P.  McCann,  died,  Wash- 
ington, D.C. 

Thirty -fourth  Regiment.  —  Capt.  George  W.  Thompson,  killed,  Winchester, 
Ta.  ;  John  M.  Winans,  Company  D,  killed,  Cedar  Creek;  Thomas  Gormley, 
Company  D,  died  of  Avounds,  Annapolis,  Md.;. William  Henry,  Comj^any  D, 
killed,  Hatcher's  Run;  Frank  L.  Kimball,  Company  D,  killed.  Piedmont;  John 
M.  Roach,  Company  D,  died,  DauA-ille,  Va. 

Thirty-seventh  Regiment. — Killed,  Vincent  H.  Tanner,  Company  G,  Win- 
chester; William  Whitney,  Company  G,  Wilderness;  Josiah  B.  Hawks,  Com- 
pany I,  Spottsylvania ;  AYilliam  C.  Stockwell,  Company  I,  Petersburg;  Clarkson 
H.  Decker,  Company  I,  Cold  Harbor;  George  P.  Edwards,  Company  I,  Peters- 
burg; Edward  S.  King,  Company  I,  Spottsylvania;  Augustus  E.  Pease,  Com- 
pany I,  Winchester;  Erastus  B.  Pease,  Company  I,  Cold  Harbor:  Edwin  0. 
Wentworth,  Company  I,  Spottsylvania;  Michael  Freeman,  Company  K,  Spott- 
sylvania; Timothy  McNamara,  Company  K,  AVilderness.  Died  of  wounds, — 
Lieut.  Joseph  FoUansbee,  May  23,  1864;  Edward  M.  Morley,  Company  A,  City 
Point;  Dennis  Driscoll,  Company  K,  Wasliington.  Died, — Alpheus  D.  Lathrop, 
Company  G,  Washington ;  Martin  Luther,  Company  I,  Springfield;  Albert  F. 
BroAvn,  Company  I,  Hagerstown;  William  Daley,  Comjjany  I,  Brandy  Station; 
Edward  Dunn,  Company  I,  Harper's  Ferry;  James  O.  Lee,  Company  I,  Fort 
Hamilton;  Charles  E.  StockAvell,  Company  I,  Washington.  Missing, — Henry 
M.  Clark,  Company  A,  since  May  6,  1864. 

Thirty-ninth  Regiment.  — Charles  Swan,  died,  Salisbury,  N.C. 

Fifty-fourth  Regiment.  —  Peter  B.  Johnson,  Company  A,  missing  in  action, 
July  18,  1863;  Ralsez  R.  Townsend,  Company  A,  missing  in  action,  July  18, 
1863. 

Fifty-seventh  Regiment. — Killed,  Waldo  Sherman,  Company  C,  Spottsylvania; 
Thomas  Farrell,  Company  E,  Wilderness;  Robert  McCoy,  Company  E,  Wilder- 
ness; John  E.    Tuttle,   Company  G,   Wilderness;  Wilham  Day,   Company  G, 


538  SPRINGFIELD,    2G36-1SS6. 

Wilderness;  Thomas  Conway,  Company  I,  North  Anaa  river;  Albert  W.  Dow, 
Company  K,  Wilderness.  Died  of  wounds,  — Dennis  Lee,  Company  G,  Wash- 
ington, D.C. ;  George  W.  Benton,  Company  K,  jNIay  12,  1804.  Died, — Michael 
Powers,  Company  C,  Danville,  Va. ;  John  Donnelly,  Company  D,  Beverly, 
N.J. 

Fifty-eiglith  Regiment. — Francis  P.  Lemon,  Company  G,  killed,  Petersburg. 

Sixty-first  Regiment. — Edward  M.  Bent,  Company  F,  died,  Washington; 
Simon  P.  Shepardson,  Company  F,  died,  August  23,  1805. 

Forty-sixth  Regiment. — Died. — Dexter  C.  Allen,  Company  A,  Baltiinore; 
Henry  D.  Bartlett,  Company  A,  Newbern,  N.C. ;  George  D.  Kingsley,  Company 
A,  Newbern,  X.C. 

First  Regiment  Heavy  Artillery.  —  Abril  Farrer,  Ccmipany  M,  died,  field 
hospital. 

Second  Regiment  Heavy  Artillery. —  Missing  in  action,  —  Michael  Flavin,  Com- 
pany, D,  February  2,  1805;  James  Scanlan,  Company  G,  April  20,  1864.     Died, 

—  Mark  Nalor,  Company  D,  Florence,  S.C  ;  Frederick  Osborne,  Company  F, 
Newbern,  N.C;  Henry  M.  Barden,  Company  G,  Florence;  Albert  W.  Brewer, 
Company  G,  Andersonville ;  Levi  G.  Harvey,  Company  G,  Andersonville ;  John 
Hilpold,  Company  G,  died,  prisoner;  William  H.  Leonard,  Newbern;  Charles 
Seymour,  Company  G,  Andersonville ;  George  H.  Phetteplace,  Company  H, 
Newbern. 

Third  Regiment  Heavy  Artillery. — Alexander  Coates,  Company  E,  died, 
Springfield;  Albert  H.  Wood,  Company  I,  died,  Richmond,  Va.  ;  John  W. 
Thomas,  Company  I,  drowned  in  Appomattox  river. 

First  Regiment  Cavalry.  — Killed, — William  Maguiness,  Company  A,  Aldie; 
Daniel  F.  Milton,  Company  A,  Aldie;  James  W.  Kearney,  Company  I,  Vaughn 
road.  Died,  — William  Allen,  Company  A,  Potomac  Creek;  Leander  F.  Pierce, 
Company  D.  Potomac  Creek;  Keuben  S.  Bemis,  Company  E,  Acquia  Creek; 
William  H.  Church,  xVndersonville ;  William  S.  Fuller,  Company  E,  Annapolis; 
Gilbert  L.  Miller,  Company  E,  Andersonville;  Charles  H.  Putnam,  Company  E, 
Springfield;  Robert  A.  Remington,  Company  E.  Andersonville;  John  Kirkland, 
Company  F,  Baltimore;  Perry  0.  Merrill,  Company  I,  Florence;  David  Mil- 
liard, Company  I,  Washington :  Jacob  Pinseno,  Salisbury ;  William  Collins, 
Company  K,  August  31,  18G4 ;  Leonard  Dinkel,  unassigned  recruit,  November 
6,  1864;  John  L.   Harris,  unassigned  recruit,  Washington.     Missing  in  action, 

—  Livingston  Babcock,  Comjjany  F  ;   Irving  R.  Cheeney,  Company  F. 

Third  Regiment  Cavalry. — Joseph  H.  Sargent,  Company  A,  died,  Annapolis. 
Fourth  Regiment  Cavalry.  — Henry  T.  ^Morgan,  Company  B,  died,  Richmond; 
Frederick  H.ale,  Company  G,  died,  Fort  jNIagruder,  Va. 


SPUING  FIELD,    163G-1886.  539 

Fifth  Regiment  Cavalry.  —  Isaac  H.  Dorsey,  Company  D,  died,  Ncav  Orleans ; 
Howard  Long,  Company  F,  died,  Fort  ^Monroe ;  Elisha  Gaskins,  Company  G, 
died,  Point  Lookout,  Md. 

Recapitulation.  — Killed,  59;  died,  88;  died  of  -wounds,  LS ;  missing  10; 
drowned,  2 ;  total,  1G7. 

We  have  now  reached  a  pohit  in  oiir  long  story  where  it  is  custom- 
ary for  historians  to  pause.  The  immediate  past  is  fresh  in  the  mind  ; 
many  of  the  figures  are  still  with  us,  and  the  olnions  obstacles  in 
dealing  with  this  period  is  apparent.  AYe  have  already  transgressed 
somewhat  the  rule  by  speaking  of  many  who  still  live  ;  but  this  seemed 
excusable  in  order  to  cover,  in  some  small  measure,  the  period  of  the 
great  war.  It  is  only  meagrely  presented,  and  much  is  left  for  the 
next  generation  to  arrange  and  select  for  preservation. 

What  remains  to  be  said  is  soon  told.  Springfield's  mayors  and 
the  dates  of  their  elections  were,  successively  :  Charles  A.  Winchester, 
republican,  1867,  1868;  AVilliam  L.  Smith,  democrat,  1869,  1870; 
Samuel  B.  Spooner,  republican,  1871,  1872  ;  John  M.  Stebbins,  demo- 
crat, 1873;  Emerson  Wight,  republican,  1874,  1875,  1876,  1877; 
Lewis  J.  Powers,  democrat  and  citizens'  ticket,  1878  (republican 
ticket),  1879  ;  William  H.  Haile,  republican,  1880,  1881  ;  Henry  M. 
Philhps,  republican,  1882,  1883,  1884;  Edwin  D.  Metcalf,  republi- 
can, 1885,  who  thus  was  in  office  during  the  Springfield  May  cele- 
bration of  1886. 

There  were  two  serious  fires  in  the  month  of  July,  1864,  one  at  the 
water-shops,  the  forging-shop  being  consumed,  at  a  loss  of  $50,000. 
On  the  24th  of  July  fire  broke  out  upon  Alain  street,  and  the  follow- 
ing buildings  were  destroyed  :  The  Alusic  Hall  block,  corner  of  Main 
and  Pynchon  streets  ;  the  adjoining  wooden  buildings  occupied  by 
Geo.  M.  Law  and  E.  Alalley  ;  the  stables  of  the  Thompson  Express  Co.  ; 
the  American  Hook  and  Ladder  Company's  building  ;  and  the  Hitch- 
cock block,  corner  of  Main  and  Pynchon  streets  ;  loss,  $122,000  ;  in- 
surance, $80,000.     The  loss  fell  the  heaviest  upon  Tilly  Ha3^nes,  the 


540  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

owner  and  builder  of  the  Music  Hall  block,  and  a  very  popular, 
public-spirited,  and  enterprising  citizen. 

The  most  extensive  conflagration  of  this  period  took  place  Sunday 
afternoon,  April  29,  1875,  it  being  within  a  few  weeks  of  the  two 
hundredth  anniversary  of  the  burning  of  Springfield  by  the  Indians. 
The  fire  started  in  the  planing-mill  of  H.  M.  Conkey  &  Co.,  Taylor 
street,  swept  away  $181,100  worth  of  property  on  that  street,  de- 
voured $75,000  on  Worthington  street,  cut  a  $191,200  hole  out  of 
Main  street,  and  careened  into  Bond  place  on  a  $16,250  errand  ;  made 
^Vight  avenue  $24,800  the  poorer  ;  levelled  dwelling-houses  in  Yernon 
street  to  the  tune  of  $99,350,  and  exhausted  its  strength  on  Water 
street  with  a  wind  up  of  $8,200  ;  total,  $596,300  ;  insurance,  $445,- 
270.  Total  buildings  lost,  50,  of  which  30  were  dwelling-houses. 
The  losses  of  $20,000  and  over  are  here  added :  Merriam  &  PVost, 
$40,000  ;  Stebbins  Manufacturing  Company,  $27,000  ;  AVason  Manu- 
facturing Company,  $25,000;  A.  B.  Abbey,  $30,000;  McKnight, 
Norton,  &  Hawley,  $25,000  ;  J.  S.  Hurlbut,  820,000  ;  C.  S.  Hurlbut, 
$40,000;  Livermore,  Swan,  &  Co.,  $45,000;  Joseph  Shaw  estate, 
$40,000. 

Upon  Washington's  birthda}^,  1876,  an  elaborate  Washington  part}'' 
was  held  in  the  old  Parsons  tavern  now  on  Court  street.  The  build- 
ing was  filled  with  ancient  furniture  and  bric-a-brac,  and  the  actors 
generally  appeared  in  costumes  of  the  past. 

Several  changes  in  newspapers  took  place  after  the  war.  Henr}'' 
M.  Burt,  who  started  the  "  New  England  Homestead,"  at  Nortli- 
ampton,  moved  the  paper  to  Springfield  in  1867,  and  subsequenth^ 
published  the  ''  Evening  Telegram."  In  1872  the  business  interests 
of  the  "  Springfield  IJepublican  "  were  reorganized.  Clark  W.  Bryan 
and  Mr.  Tapley  left  the  firm,  taking  the  job  printing,  and  forming  the 
Clark  W.  Bryan  Company.  The}-  bought  of  Lewis  H.  Taylor  the 
"  Springfield  Evening  Union,"  founded  in  1864  b}- Edmund  Anthony, 
of  New  Bedford.  William  M.  Pomeroy  was  made  managing  editor, 
and  E.  H.  Phelps  local  editor.     The   "Union"  developed  marked 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6. 


541 


ability,  especially  as   to   local  news,   iiiuch    above   the  usual    run  of 
provincial  evening  papers. 

In  1881  Dea.  Joseph  L.  Shipley  became  editor  of  the  •'  Union,"  and 
soon  afterward  secured  a  controlling  interest  in  the  company.     Mr. 


Parsons  Tavern  as  it  appeared 


[SS6. 


Shipley  is  a  hard  worker  within  the  lines  set  by  his  party,  and  has 
fully  maintained  the  reputation  of  the  paper  in  the  local  field.  Mr. 
Bryan  had  left  the  company,  and  after  a  short  journalistic  experi- 
ence in  Berkshire,  established  a  printing-house  in  Holyoke,  which 
so  grew  upon  his  hands  that  he  was  forced  to  bring  his  business  to 
Springfield.     The  "  New  England   Homestead"  was  bought  in  1878, 


542  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

by  E.  H.  Phelps  and  H.  H.  Sanderson,  and  a  city  edition  was  started 
a  few  months  later.  The  Phelps  Publishing  Company  was  organ- 
ized in  1880,  and  the  "  Farm  and  Home,"  an  agricultural  paper, 
was  started  about  the  same  time.  Both  this  paper  and  the  "  Home- 
stead "  have  proved  great  financial  successes. 

E.  and  C.  J.  Bellamy  started  the  "  Daily  News"  in  1880,  and  the 
latter  subsequently  secured  his  brother's  interest.  Three  years  later 
the  dail}'  "Democrat"  was  started  by  a  company,  with  Lawson 
Sibley  as  president,  but  it  was  short-lived.  In  1878  Edward  Merriam 
started  a  magazine  in  Springfield  called  the  "  Sunday  Afternoon," 
Rev.  Washington  Gladden,  editor.  It  had  a  short  and  brilliant 
career. 

There  is  one  man  who  for  over  thirty  j^ears  was  an  essential 
part  of  Springfield,  but  who,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  can  com- 
mand but  comparatively  small  space  in  this  history.  The  thought 
of  Samuel  Bowles  was  the  thought  of  thousands  of  men  at  each  break- 
fast table,  and  the  irritation  of  other  thousands.  He  was  a  politician 
and  the  foe  of  politicians  ;  he  was  a  man  of  deep  religious  percep- 
tions and  a  frequent  combatant  of  religionists  ;  his  literature  was 
the  record  of  the  hour,  and  his  rhetoric  the  elegance  of  exactness  and 
terse  detail ;  his  phrases  were  modelled  by  the  exigencies  of  rapid 
preparation  and  a  busy  constituency.  He  was  a  lover  of  good  men 
and  the  companion  of  men  of  action,  but  an  incorrigible  belligerent 
when  the  judgment  or  character  of  friend  or  foe  fell  below  his  stand- 
ard. Party  ties  were  as  nothing,  neighborly  feeling  was  as  nothing, 
when  battling  for  a  public  policy  or  principle.  A  member  of  the 
Cobden  Club,  he  argued  for  a  graduated  protective  tariff ;  a  charter 
member  of  the  republican  party,  he  struck  that  organization  a  full 
blow  in  the  face  when  its  standard  fell  below  his.  He  grew  and 
broadened  and  mellowed  with  each  experience  in  life.  Brilliant 
and  aggressive  in  his  youth,  stern  and  cosmopolitan  in  middle  life,  he 
was  fast  maturing  to  one  of  the  most  admirable  characters  of  his 
da}",  when  death  deprived  him  of  an  age  of   distinction  and  wisdom 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6.  545 


history  of  the  land.  A  local  paper  sent  out  these  questions  to  the 
ninety-six  Congregational  ministers  of  the  four  western  Massachu- 
setts counties  :  — 

1.  Do  you  teach  that  endless  conscious  suffering  awaits  the  im- 
penitent? 2.  Would  you  have  voted  to  install  Rev.  Mr.  Merriam? 
The  answers  were:  Question  No.  1  —  Yes,  41.  No,  4.  Question 
No.  2  —  Yes,  7.  No,  27.  No  questions  were  sent  to  the  Spring- 
held  ministers.  They  stood,  however,  five  to  two  against  instal- 
lation. Many  ministers,  it  will  be  seen,  chose  not  to  veply,  and 
some  who  did,  made  it  a  condition  that  their  names  should  not  be 
published. 


t;« 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

May  'Ih,  1886. 

Preparing  to  Celebrate  the  Two  Hundred  and  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the  Founding  of 
the  Town.  —  The  Citizens'  Committee.  —  Service  of  Praise  at  the  First  Church.  — 
The  Loan  Exhibition.  —  Tuesday's  Ceremonies.  —  Band  Concert.  —  Judge  Hemy 
Morris's  Address.  —  Judge  William  S.  Shurtletf's  Ode.  —  The  Banquet  at  the  Massa- 
soit  Hotel.  —  Interesting  After-dinner  Speeches. —  Letters  of  Eegret.  —  A  Brilliant 
and  Remarkable  Occasion. 

There  are  few  memorial  occasions  which  Springfield  can  look  back 
upon  with  deeper  feelings  of  pride  and  felicitation  than  the  quarter- 
millennial  celebration.  May  25  and  26,  1886.  All  classes  of  citizens 
responded  cordially  to  the  call.  The  city  government  made  a  gener- 
ous appropriation ;  and  during  the  two  da^^s,  when  the  city  was  over- 
whelmed with  honored  guests,  interested  spectators,  and  patriotic  and 
curious  crowds,  there  was  not  a  single  incident,  except  an  accident  to 
a  boy,  which  interrupted  the  current  of  general  rejoicing. 

Mayor  Phillips,  in  1885,  had  placed  the  matter  of  a  celebration 
in  the  hands  of  an  advisory  committee,  of  which  the  late  William 
L.  Smith  was  chairman.  As  the  appropriations  w^ould  have  to  be 
made  by  the  succeeding  city  government,  nothing  definite  was  done 
thus  early  beyond  drawing  up  a  petition  to  the  Legislature  for  permis- 
sion to  appropriate  $10,000  for  the  celebration.  Upon  the  election 
of  Edwin  D.  Metcalf  as  mayor  plans  took  definite  shape.  The 
mayor  appointed  a  committee  of  fifty  citizens  to  take  entire  charge 
of  the  memorial  services,  and  to  expend,  at  their  discretion,  $9,500. 
The  committee  of  fifty  organized  with  Wm.  L.  Smith  as  chairman, 
and  to  his  executive  abilities  and  good  sense  was  due  much  of  the 
success  of  the  anniversary.     It  was  the  last  service  Mr.  Smith  ren- 


SPRINGFIELD,    2636-1S86.  547 

clered  the  city  which  had  often  trusted  and  honored  him.  He  kept  a 
careful  eye  upon  the  general  proceedings  ;  and  the  committee  supple- 
mented this  by  faithful  service  in  elaborating  the  details  of  the  pro- 
gramme.    The  full  committee  of  fifty  was  as  follows  :  — 

William  L.  Smith,  chairman;  C  C  Spellman,  secretary:  AV,  H.  Haile,  treas 
urer;  W.  S.  Shurtleff.  H.  S.  Hyde,  H.  M.  Philhps,  L.  J.  Powers,  E.  Morgan, 
Jas.  A.  Rumrill,  A.  B.  Wallace,  R.  F.   Hawkms.  H.  E.   Ducker,  C.  E.  BroAvn, 

E.  H.  Lathrop,  S.  C.  Warriner,  Daniel  J.  Marsh,  J.  D.  Gill,  E.  P.  Chapin,  J.  B. 
Carroll,  Theodore  Geisel,  Milton  Bradley,  C.  J.  GoodAvin,  C.  W.  Mutell,  E.  H. 
Phelps,  R.  O.  Morris,  L.  C  Hyde.  George  H.  Bleloch,  T.  O.  Bemis,  S.  B. 
Spooner,  F.  W.  Dickinson,  Edward  Pynchon,  F.  H.  Stebbins,  Dr.  C.  D.  Brewer, 
Wilimore  B.  Stone.  P.  S.  Bailey.  E.  C.  Rogers,  H.  S.  Lee,  Geo.  H.  Queen,  E.  C. 
AVashburn,  J.  D.  Safford,  Geo.  A.  Morton,  E.  A.  Newell,  Frank  D.  Foot,  J.  J. 
Toomey,  C.  C  Merritt,  A.  H.  Goetting,  Nathan  D.  Bill,  F.  A.  Judd,  Jas.  Mc- 
Kechnie,  Henry  AV.  Blake. 

This  committee  apportioned  the  work  among  themselves  as  fol- 
lows :  — 

Executive  Committeee. — AA"m.  L.  Smith,  chairman;  AY.  H.  Haile,  H.  S.  Hyde, 
L    J.  Powers,  Jas.  A.  Rumrill,  H.  M.  Phillips,  Elisha  Morgan,  Nathan  D.  Bill, 

F.  AA^  Dickinson,  D.  J.  Marsh,  AV.  S.  Shurtleff.  C.  AV.  Mutell,  R.  0.  Morris, 
R.  F.  Hawkuis,  Geo.  H.  Bleloch,  Mihon  Bradley,  L.  C.  Hyde. 

Committee  on  Parade.  —  D.  J.  Marsh,  chairman;  S.  B.  Spooner,  C.  AA^. 
Mutell,  R.  O.  Morris,  R.  F.  Hawkins,  Elisha  Morgan,  Geo.  H.  Bleloch,  H.  S. 
Hyde,  Milton  Bradley. 

Committees  on  the  Various  Periods  Represented  in  the  Parade.  —  1600.  R.  O. 
IMorris,  chairman;  F.  AA^.  Dickinson,  C.  J.  Goodwin,  E.  H.  Phelps,  AV.  H. 
Haile. 

1635-1735.  R.  F.  Hawkins,  chairman;  C.  C.  Spellman,  S.  C.  AA^arriner,  J. 
D.  Gill,  E.  P.  Chapin,  F.  H.  Stebbins,  E.  C.  Rogers,  Geo.  H.  Queen. 

1735-1835.  E.  Morgan,  chairman;  S.  B.  Spooner,  C  AV.  Mutell,  L.  C.  Hyde, 
P.  S.  Bailey,  E.  A.  Newell,  F.  A.  Judd,  H.  S.  Lee,  Geo.  A.  Morton. 

1835-1860.  G.  H.  Bleloch,  chairman;  H.  M.  Phillips,  A.  B.  Wallace,  E.  H. 
Lathrop,  T.  O.  Bemis,  Dr.  C.  D.  BrcAver,  Edward  Pynchon,  A.  H.  Goetting, 
Frank  D.  Foot. 

1860-1886.  H.  S.  Hyde,  chairman;  L.  J.  Powers,  H.  E.  Ducker,  C  E.  BroAvn, 
Theodore  Geisel,  J.  J.  Toomev,  E.  C  AVashburn,  N.  D.  Bill. 


548  SPRIXGFIELD,     1636-1SS6. 

1935.  Milton  Bradley,  clmirman ;  W.  S.  Shurtlefe,  J.  B.  Carroll,  AVm.  L. 
Smith,  C.  C.  Merritt,  W.  B.  Stone,  II.  ^\ .  Blake,  Jas.  McKechnie. 

Finance.  — AV.  II.  Haile,  chairman;   li.  S.  Hyde,  L.  J.  Powers. 

Banquet.  —  L.  J.  Powers,  chairman;  J.  D.  Safford,  P.  S.  Bailey.  Jas.  Mc- 
Kechnie, Henry  AV.  Blake. 

Invitations.  —  Jas.  A.  Kurarill,  chairman ;  C.  C  Merritt,  AVillniore  B.  Stone, 
J.  J.  Toomey,  E.  A.  Newell. 

Reception.  —  H.  M.  Phillips,  chairman;  V..  H.  Lathrop,  H.  S.  Lee,  S.  C.  War- 
riner,  F.  A.  Judd. 

Printing. — Nathan  D.  Bill,  chairman;  E.  C.  Rogers,  C.  E.  Brown,  F.  H. 
Stebbins,  G.  H.  Queen. 

Ball. — E.  Morgan,  chairman:  F.  D.  Foot,  G.  A.  Morton,  Edward  Pynchon, 
E.  C.  Washburn. 

Decoration.  — L.  C.   Hyde,  chairman;  J.   D.  Gill,  H.   S.  Hyde,  C  E.  Brown, 

A.  H.  Goetting. 

Music.  —  C.  W.  :\Iutell,  chairman;  L.  C.  Hyde,  F.  D.  Foot. 

Press.  — Henry  AV.  Blake,  chairman;  E.  A.  Newell,  H.  S.  Lee. 

Literary. — F.  W.  Dickinson,  chairman:  E.   H.   Phelps,  Miltoii  Bradley,  A. 

B.  Wallace,  L.  C.  Hyde. 

A  large  honorary  committee  was  chosen,  as  well  as  the  following 
connnlttee  from  the  outlying  towns  :  — 

Agawam. — J.  Henry  Churchill,  Reuben  De  Witt,  Rev.  Ralph  Perry,  C.  C 
Wright. 

Chicopee.  —  George  M.  Stearns,  L.  E.  Hitchcock.  J.  B.  Wood,  Matthew  Ryan, 
T.  W.  Carter,  Rev.  R.  K.  Bellamy,  Harrison  Munger,  F.  H.  Morton. 

Hampden. — Decius  Beebe,  Simeon  Smith,  A.  C.  Burleigh,  Dr.  George  T. 
Ballard. 

Holyoke.—^Y.  A.  Chase,  AV.  B.  C.  Pearsons,  William  Whiting,  W.  S. 
Loomis,  J.  J.  O'Connor,  Timothy  Merrick,  James  H.  Newton,  K.  B.  Johnson. 

Longmeadow.  —  Oliver  Wolcott,  T.  F.  Cordis,  James  Bliss,  A.  H.  CalMns. 

Ludlow.  —  B.  F.  Burr,  L.  H.  Brigliam,  C  F.  Grosvenor,  Rev.  M.  P.  Dickey. 

Southwick.  —Joseph  W.  Bickneli,  John  Boyle,  Charles  D.  Abell,  George  W. 
Hamilton. 

Westfield. —^.  B.  Gillette,  L.  N.  Clark,  L.  F.  Thayer,  M.  B.  Whitney,  L.  B. 
Walkeey,  J.  R.  Dunbar,  Henry  Fuller,  H.  W.  Ely. 

West  Springfield.  —II.  N.  Bagg,  E.  C.  Brooks,  B.  F.  Trask,  George  L. 
AVriffht. 


SPRINGFIELD,    2636-1SS6.  549 

Wilhraham.  —J.  W.  Bliss,  F.  E.  Clark,  M.  F.  Breck,  Ira  G.  Potter. 
Enfield.  — J.  L.  Houston,  Samuel  Hathaway,  Joseph  Allen,  Thompson  Grant. 
Somers.—\Y.  B.  Woods,  S.  M.  Billings,  H.  R.  Kibbe,  D.  B.  Pomeroy. 
Svjjield.—i.  Luther  Sherman,  W.  L.  Loomis,  A.  C.  Allen,  H.  K.  Wright. 

The  cereinoiiies  really  began  on  Sunday,  the  23d,  when  all  the 
churches  took  occasion  to  recall  the  past  1)}^  appropriate  exercises. 
It  had  been  the  intention  of  the  historian  to  give  extracts  from  the 
various  anniversary  sermons,  both  here  and  in  the  surrounding 
towns.  After  collecting  over  thirty  abstracts  of  sermons,  however, 
the  plan  was  abandoned  on  account  of  the  lack  of  space.  The  Sun- 
day exercises  that  attracted  the  greatest  interest  took  place  in  the 
evening  at  the  First  Congregational  Church.  The  age  of  that  organ- 
ization is  practically  that  of  the  town.  Here  is  the  programme.  It 
may  be  added,  that  the  tunes  were  taken  from  '^  The  Springfield  Col- 
lection," by  Solomon  Warriner,  published  in  1810,  or  the  '"  Musica 
Sacra  ;  or,  Springfield  and  Utica  Collections  United,"  by  Thomas  Hast- 
ings and  Solomon  Warriner,  published  in  numerous  editions  from 
1816  to  1829.  The  dates  mentioned  with  the  tunes  are  believed  to 
be  approximately  correct : 

INVOCATION, 
CONGREGATIONAL  TUNES,  — 

Judgment    Hvmn   (Hymn    1247,  "  Songs    for   the    Sanctuary,"   two    verses). 

"  Great  God,  What  do  I  See  and  Hear?  "  Martin  Luther,  1530 

Evening  Hymn  (Hymn  154,  two  verses).      "Glory  To  Tliee,   My  God,  This 

Night."  Tallis,  155G 

SCRIPTURE. 
ANTHEM.  —  •'  Glory  Be  To  God  On  High."  Bird,  1565 

PRAYER. 
CHOIR  TUNES,— 

Canterbury.  —  "  O  Thou.  From  Whom  All  Goodness  Flows," 

Ravenscroft,  1633 


550  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6. 

Palmyra,  —  "  That  Once  Loved  Form,  Now  Cold  and  Dead," 

Buononcini,  1685 
BuRFORD,  —  "  O  Sun  of  Righteousness,  Arise,"  Purcell,  1695 

Dunbar,  —  "  When  Overwhelmed  With  Grief,"  Corelli,  1700 

LETTER  from  Rev.  Thomas  R.  Pvnchon,  D.D. 

CONGREGATIONAL  TUNES,  — 

St.  Ann's  (Hymn  230,  first  and  last  verses).      "  The  Lord,  Our  God,  Is  Full 
of  Might,"  Dr.  Croft,  1720 

Shirland  (Hymn  881,  two  verses).       ''  Our  Heavenly  Father  Calls," 

Stanley,  1734 
Christmas  (Hymn  281,  two  verses).      "  Awake,  Awake  the  Sacred  Song," 

Handel,  1740 
CHOIR  TUNES,  — 

Truro, —  "  With  All  My  Powers  of  Heart  and  Tongue,"       Dr.  Burney,  1750 
Protection,  —  "  Up  to  the  Hills  I  Lift  Mine  Eyes,"  Haydn,  1760 

Westminster,  —  "  Blest  are  the  Sons  of  Peace,"  Dr.  Boyce,  1760 

Pastoral  Hymn,  —  "  The  Lord  My  Pasture  Shall  Prepare,"      Dr.  Arne,  1762 
TuNBRiDGE,  —  "  There  Is  a  Fountain  Filled  with  Blood,"         Dr.  Hayes,  1765 

HISTORICAL  PAPER,  —  *«  Solomon  Warriner,  and  the  Music  of  His  Day," 

Edward  Morris 
CONGREGATIONAL  TUNE,  — 

St.  Martin's   (Hymn  110,  omit  second  verse).     "Lift  Up  to  God  the  Voice 
of  Praise,"  Tans ur,  17(^6 

CHOIR  TUNES,— 

Blendon,  —  "  Jesus,  My  All.  to  Heaven  is  Gone,"  Giardini,  1770 

HiNTON,  —  "  With  All  the  Powers  of  Heart  and  Tongue," 

Richard  Taylor,  1779 
REVIEW, —  "  Methods  of  Church  Support,"  E.  C  Rogers 

ANTHEM,  —  "Lord  of  All  Power  and  Might,"  William  Mason,  1782 

CONGREGATIONAL  TUNE,  — 

Brattle  Street,  —  (Hymn  225),  "  When  All  Thy  Mercies,  O  My  God!  " 

Pleyel,  1785 

CHOIR  TUNES,— 

Clapton,  — "Thy  Name,  Almighty  Lord,'"  Rev.   W.  Jones,  1786 

Wareham,  —  "  Soon  As  I  Heard  My  Father  Say,"  Dr.  Arnold,  1788 

St.  Philip,  —  "Join  All  the  Glorious  Names,"  Levesque,  1790 

ADDRESS, —  "Springfield  Memories,"  J.L.Johnson 

CHANT,  —  "  Gloria  Patri,"  Battishill,  1790 


SPRLVG  FIELD,    1636-1S86.  551 


CHOIR  TUNES,  — 

Florence,  —  "  Come  Thou  Fount  of  Every  Blessing,"  Viotti,  1795 

Funeral  Hymn,  —  "  The  Righteous  Souls  tliat  Take  their  Flight," 

Dr.  Edward  Miller,  1795 
Cambridge,  —  "  Come  Sound  His  Praise  Abroad,"  Robert  Harrison,  1795 


REMARKS   BY   THE   PASTOR. 
HYMX-ANTHEM,  — 

Denmark,  —  "  Before  JehoA'ah's  Awful  Throne,"  M.  Madan.  1799 

PRAYER   AND   BENEDICTION. 

The  choir  performers  were  :  Director  and  organist,  Edward  H. 
Phelps  ;  soprano,  Miss  Fannie  B.  Chamberlain  ;  alto,  Mrs.  J.  C.  In- 
gersoll;   bass,  George  R.  Bond;  tenor,  J.  C.  IngersolL 

Monday  was  the  bns}^  day  of  the  week.  Decorators  were  at  work 
upon  all  the  principal  buildings  of  the  city.  Two  hundred  and  fifty 
electric  lights  were  placed  among  the  branches  of  the  elms  on  Court 
square,  and  the  carpenters  were  at  work  upon  the  arch  that  spanned 
Main  street,  opposite  the  square,  as  well  as  upon  the  various  floats 
and  exhibits  for  the  great  procession.  Springfield  never  presented 
such  a  brilliant  appearance.  The  chapel  of  the  First  Congregational 
Church  was  being  meantime  turned  into  an  antiquarian  museum  of 
great  interest,  citizens  generally  contributing  of  their  ancient  bric-a- 
brac  and  heirlooms.  The  loan  exhibition  committee  w^as  divided  up 
into  the  following  sub-committees  :  — 

Executive  committee. — Charles  Marsh,  chairman;  EdAvard  Ingersoll,  V.  N. 
Taylor,  advisory;  E.  P.  Chapin,  E.  C.  Rogers,  E.  C.  Pierce,  J.  D.  Gill,  Charles 
H.  Southworth,  Mrs.  R.  F.  Hawkins,  Mrs.  W.  L.  Smith,  Mrs.  P.  P.  Kellogg, 
Mrs.  N.  W.  Fisk,  Mrs.  L.  J.  PoAvers,  Mrs.  W.  S.  Shurtleff,  Mrs.  G.  W.  Tapley, 
Mrs.  H.  J.  Beebe,  Mrs.  Heman  Smith,  Mrs.  N.  C.  Newell,  Mrs.  Ellen  A.  Cha- 
pin, Miss  Elizabeth  Ames,  Miss  Mary  L.  Jacobs. 

Historical  paintings  and  pictures. — James  D.  GiU,  O.  B.  Ireland,  W.  W. 
Colburn,  E.  C  Pierce,  J.  W.  Cumnock,  Mrs.  P.  P.  Kellogg,  Mrs.  A.  J.  Smith, 
Mrs.  William  Whiting,  of  Holyoke;  Mrs.  N.  C.  NeAvell,  Mrs.  W.  H.  Wesson, 


552  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1S86. 


Mrs.  E.  W.  Bond,  Mrs.  J.  A.  Rumrill,  Miss  N.  Homans,  Miss  S.  Manning, 
Miss  M.  Benton,  Miss  M.  Bradford,  Mrs.  H.  Kibbe,  of  Somers ;  Mrs.  A.  F. 
Gaylord,  of  Chicopee ;  Mrs.  R.  H.  Seymour,  of  Holyoke;  Mrs.  L.  H.  Brighara, 
of  Ludlow;  Mrs.  D.  L.  Gillett,  of  Westfield ;  Mrs.  J.  W.  Cumnock,  of 
Chicopee. 

Textile  fabrics,  including  costumes,  laces,  tahle  and  led  covers,  needle-work, 
e/c.  —  Mrs.  W.  L.  Smith,  Mrs.  L.  J.  Powers,  Mrs.  A.  A.  Packard,  Mrs.  E.  P. 
Chapin,  Mrs.  J.  H.  Carmichael.  Mrs.  H.  S.  Hyde,  Mrs.  T.  F.  Breck,  Mrs.  G.  C. 
McLean,  Mrs.  A.  B.  Harris,  Mrs.  J.  S.  Hurlbut,  Miss  Sarah  P.  Birnie ;  Miss  M. 
K.  Ely,  of  West  Springfield;  Mrs.  T.  B.  Wattles,  of  Chicopee  Falls;  Mrs.  L. 
Whitman,  of  Agawam ;  Mrs.  James  Bly,  of  Chicopee  Falls ;  Miss  Kate  Woods, 
of  Somers ;  Miss  Louise  Dunbar. 

China,  glass,  pottery,  etc.  —  ^Ivb.  W.  S.  Shurtleff,  Mrs.  W.  B.  C.  Pearsons, 
of  Holyoke;  Mrs.  Homer  Foot.  Jr.,  Miss  Ida  Southworth,  Miss  Mary  Bradford, 
Miss  Maria  Foot,  Miss  Grace  Dwight,  Mrs.  J.  E.  Russell,  Mrs.  E.  C.  Pierce, 
Mrs.  D.  E.  Taylor,  Mrs.  W.  C.  Simons,  Mrs.  F.  W.  Chapin,  Mrs.  Ellen  H.  Cha- 
pin, Mrs.  G.  W.  Tapley,  Mrs.  T.  O.  Bemis,  Mrs.  W.  M.  Collins :  Mrs.  R.  Bagg, 
Jr.,  of  West  Springfield;  Mrs.  C.  S.  Miller,  of  Southwick;  Mrs.  0.  K.  Merrill; 
:\rrs.  A.  Bush,  of  AVestfield ;  Mrs.  Myron  Bliss,  of  Wilbraham. 

Furniture,  cabinets,  mvsical  instruments,  clocks,  etc.  —  J.  P.  Harding,  George 
D.  Pratt,  Mrs.  A.  T.  Folsom ;  Mrs.  C.  W.  Ranlet,  of  Holyoke ;  Mrs.  H.  J. 
Beebe,  Miss  M.  L.  Jacobs,  Mrs.  E.  C.  Rogers,  Mrs.  T.  B.  A^alker;  Mrs.  A. 
Aitcheson,  of  Wilbraham ;  Mrs.  F.  L.  Gunn,  Mrs.  A.  J.  Pease ;  Miss  Hannah 
Bliss,  of  Longmeadow;  Mrs.  L.  E.  Hitchcock,  of  Chicopee;  Mrs.  E.  Sproul.  of 
Southwick;  Mrs.  G.  O.  Kingsbury;  Mrs.  A.  F.  Gaylord.  of  Chicopee;  Mrs.  Vs\ 
Austin,  of  Agawam;   Mrs.  J.  L.  Houston,  of  Enfield. 

Books,  manuscripts,  papers,  deeds,  maps,  and  autographs.  —  Mrs.  Heman 
Smith,  Mrs.  Mary  Calhoun,  Mrs.  R.  O.  Morris,  Miss  E.  Mills,  Miss  Stella  War- 
ren, Miss  M.  R.  Leonard;  Miss  A.  Xoble,  of  Longmeadow ;  Mrs.  Dr.  Foskit,  of 
AYilbraham;  Mrs.  Dr.  Ballard,  of  Hampden;  Mrs.  T.  J.  Pease,  of  Enfield; 
Mrs.  George  R.  Dickinson;  Mrs.  Charles  Grosvenor,  of  Ludlow;  Mrs.  J.  R. 
Dunbar,  of  Westfield;  Mrs.  J.  V.  Wolcott,  of  Agawam;  Mrs.  A.  F.  Webb,  of 
Southwick;  Miss  I.  T.  Jones,  of  LudloAv. 

Curios,  bric-a-brac,  jewellery,  plaques,  coins,  etc. — E.  S.  Brewer,  C  P.  Nich- 
ols, C.  D.  Brewer,  Mrs.  R.  F.  Hawkins,  Mrs.  O.  B.  Ireland.  Mrs.  F.  R.  Hayes; 
Mrs.  E.  B.  Hooker,  of  Longmeadow;  Mrs.  R.  H.  Seymour,  of  Holyoke;  Mrs. 
X.  W.  Fisk,  Mrs.  C.  P.  Xichols,  Miss  EHzabeth  Ames,  Miss  Mary  Bill,  Mrs.  J. 
J.  S.  Bagg;  Miss  AHce  Pendleton,  of  Willimansett ;  Mrs.  F.  Carleton,  of  South- 
wick ;  Mrs.  F.  Gallup,  of  Ludlow ;  Mrs.  H.  A.   Gibbs,  Miss  Annie    T.   Covell. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6.  553 

Mrs.  J.  W.  Kirkham  ;  Mrs.  A.  B.  West,  of  Chicopee  Falls ;  Mrs.  L.  R.  Norton, 
of  Westfield;  Miss  Ambia  Harris,  Miss  Belle  Newell,  Mrs.  R.  D.  Whitney. 

Armorrj  exhibit  and  Civil  War.  —  Captain  Starin,  Captain  Heath,  Lieutenant 
Clark,  Capt.  E.  C.  Pierce,  Maj.  H.  G.  Gilmore,  E.  C.  Rogers. 

Catalogue.  —Fred  L.  Gillett,  G.  D.  Button,  G.  D.  Pratt,  F.  B.  Marsh,  J.  W. 
Kirkham,  H.  G.  Chapin. 

SJiow  cases.  — C.  P.  Nichols,  J.  D.  Gill,  V.  N.  Taylor,  C.  H.  Southworth. 

Transportation.  —  A.  B.  Harris.  N.  D.  Bill,  C.  E.  Brown,  T.  O.  Bemis. 

Police.— Y..  P.  Chapin,  H.  G.  Gilmore,  E.  C.  Rogers. 

The  formal  programme  of  the  qiiarter-millennial  was  begun  at  noon 
on  Tuesday,  when  Captain  Starring  ordered  a  salute  of  fourteen  guns, 
at  the  armory  in  honor  of  the  fourteen  towns  situated  within  the 
original  limits  of  Springfield,  and  this  was  followed  by  the  national 
salute  and  the  ringing  of  all  the  church  bells  of  the  city. 

It  is  not  permitted  us  to  give  in  detail  the  numerous  scenes  of 
graphic  interest  upon  these  two  days  in  street  and  hall,  but  it  would 
not  do  to  pass  by  the  gathering  in  the  City  Hall  upon  the  afternoon  of 
Tuesday.  It  was  not  the  brilliant  decorations  that  charmed,  for  that 
hall  had  been  brilliantly  decorated  before  ;  nor  the  music,  and  one 
might  almost  say,  nor  the  ceremonies  either.  The  unique  feature  of 
the  occasion  was  the  audience  itself.  This  generation  never  witnessed 
a  ga.thering  like  it.  Such  a  number  of  rare  old  faces,  so  many 
Yankee  eyes,  dimmed  in  brilliancy  by  time,  but  Yankee  eyes  all  tlie 
same,  such  odd  characters  peering  about  the  audience  as  if  making 
comparisons  between  the  high  life  of  tlie  present  and  the  homely 
glories  of  the  past.  In  fine,  to  one  ^\\\o  took  the  trouble  to  make  the 
circuit  of  that  audience  and  to  study  it  from  every  side,  it  seemed  for 
all  the  world  as  though  the  garrets  had  been  swept  for  precious 
remnants  of  humanity  to  be  sprinkled  through  a  congregation  of 
fashion.  Patricularly  did  the  address  of  Governor  Robinson  warm 
the  blood  of  the  true  and  tried  lovers  of  old  Springfield,  the  city  of 
homes.  That  remarkable  crowd  of  distinguished  and  obscure  men, 
—  the  busy  and  leisurely  men,  those  who  had  had  borne  burdens 
and  those  who  had  taken  their  places,  were  in  touch  with  the  gov- 


554  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


eriior,   and  were    frequent   and   hearty   in    their    response    and    ap- 
l^lause. 

The  literary  exercises  in  the  hall,  upon  this  remarkable  Tuesday, 
were  preceded  by  a  concert  by  Gartland's  Tenth  Regiment  Band  of 
Albany,  N.Y. 

The  president  of  the  day  and  the  vice-presidents  were  as  follows  :— 

President  of  the  day,  Dr.  .Joseph  C.  Pynchon.  Vice-presidents,  Springfield, 
William  L.  Smith,  Judge  M.  P.  Knowlton,  Judge  Gideon  Wells,  E.  B.  Maynard, 
EUphalet  Trask,  Homer  Foot,  Maj.  EdAvard  Ingersoll,  Henry  Fuller,  Jr.,  Harvey 
Sanderson,  Bishop  P.  T.  O'Eeilly.  Agawam,  E.  K.  Bodurtha.  Chicopee, 
George  S.  Taylor.  Hampden,  W.  R.  Sessions.  Holyoke,  Oscar  Ely.  Long- 
meadow,  Stephen  T.  Colton.  Ludlow,  Marvin  King.  Southwick,  Joseph  X. 
Forward.  Westfield,  Samuel  FoMler.  West  Springfield,  Aaron  Bagg.  Wil- 
brahara,  John  M.  Merrick.  Enfield,  Charles  Brisco.  Somers,  Amos  Pease. 
Suffield,  H.  S.  Sheldon. 

At  2.15  ex-Mayor  William  L.  Smith,  the  chairman  of  the  Citizens' 
Committee ,  arose  and  said  :  — 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen,  —  The  Committee  of  Arrangements  for  the  celebration 
of  the  tAvo  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  Springfield  had  selected  to  preside 
at  these  exercises  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  man  who  stood  foremost  among  the 
original  settlers  of  the  plantation  of  Agawam,  and  who.  by  his  prudent  and  able 
administration  of  the  affairs  of  that  little  colony,  transformed  it  into  a  permanent 
and  prosperous  community.  We  recognize  the  distinguished  services  of  the 
fathers  of  the  city  by  honoring  their  worthy  representatives.  By  the  inability  of 
Dr.  Joseph  Pynchon  to  be  present  here  to-day  by  reason  of  infirmity  of  health, 
a  matter,  of  course,  of  regret  to  all  of  us,  the  Committee  of  Arrangements 
have  invited  Marcus  P.  Knowlton,  who  has  consented  to  act  as  presiding  officer ; 
and  I  accordingly  have  the  honor  now  to  introduce  to  you  Judge  Knowlton, 
the  acting  president  of  the  day. 

Judge  Knowlton.  —Ladies  and  Gentlemen,— It  is  not  expected  that  I  shall 
detain  you  with  an  address  to-day.  It  is  more  fitting,  in  view  of  the  feast  to 
which  you  have  been  invited,  that  I  should  not  delay  you,  but  begin  at  once  the 
exercises  which  you  have  come  to  hear.  We  shall  commence  our  exercises  Avith 
prayer,  which  Avill  be  offered  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Buckingliani. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-I8S6.  555 


After  Dr.  Buckingham's  prayer  came  music,  the  male  chorus  of  the 
Orpheus  Chib  singing  the  ''Chorus  of  Pilgrims,"  from  Tannhauser. 

Judge  Knowlton.  —  The  town  of  Springfield,  adopting  the  fashions  of 
modern  times,  has  become  a  city,  and  she  boasts  a  mayor,  a  board  of  aldermen, 
and  a  common  council.  Avhich  administer  her  government  Avisely  and  honestly. 
She  will  now  speak  words  of  welcome  by  the  hps  of  her  mayor,  Edwin  D. 
Metcalf. 

Mayor  Metcalf.  —  J/r.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen.  —Tlv^o  hundred 
and  fifty  years  ago,  after  braving  the  dangers  of  the  unbroken  wilderness  that 
separated  the  ^Massachusetts  bay  and  the  rich  valley  of  the  Connecticut,  a  colony, 
small  in  numbers,  but  strong  in  hope  and  courage,  began  the  settlement  of 
Springfield.  Surrounded  by  inhospitable  forests  and  hostile  savage  tribes,  amid 
want,  danger,  hardships,  and  sore  privations,  these  early  colonists  founded  here 
a  community  that  has  changed  the  aspect  of  nature,  filled  this  valley,  and  covered 
these  hills  Avith  a  numerous  and  happy  people,  rich  in  all  those  possessions  and 
blessings  which  flow  from  industry,  good  government,  universal  education,  deep 
and  abiding  principles.  All  that  we  enjoy  is  fruit  from  the  seed  they  planted.  It 
is  to  their  courage,  their  industry,  their  love  of  freedom,  their  faith  in  and 
reverence  for  God  and  his  word,  that  we  in  a  large  measure  owe  our  abundant 
prosperity. 

In  grateful  recognition  of  our  many  obligations  to  them,  to  give  public  ex- 
pression of  our  respect  for  their  virtues  and  achievements,  to  show  our  devotion 
to  the  principles  they  illustrated,  to  quicken  our  zeal  for  future  endeavors,  and 
refresh  the  recollections  of  the  liistory  of  the  past,  our  citizens  have  assembled 
for  the  second  time  in  this  century  to  celebrate  the  anniversary  of  its  settlement, 
and  welcome  home  all  its  sons  and  daughters. 

It  IS  not  Springfield's  anniversary  alone.  Many  other  towns  are  entitled  to 
share  with  us  in  all  these  hallowed  memories.  For  more  than  a  century  Spring- 
field exercised  jurisdiction  over  all  the  territory  originally  assigned  to  her  first 
settlers ;  but  in  process  of  time,  as  new  centres  of  population  were  formed  and 
new  interests  developed,  new  towns  were  organized,  so  that  Springfield  now 
covers  but  a  small  portion  of  its  original  territory.  All  these  towns,  though 
independent  of  us,  are  yet  closely  bound  to  us  by  the  ties  of  a  common  origin,  a 
common  history,  and  common  interests.  They  have  gone  forth,  as  the  grown-up 
daughters  of  a  house,  to  estabhsh  new  homes  and  new  centres  of  growth,  and 
their  progress  has  been  watched  by  us  with  such  care  and  interest  as  only  a 
mother  can  have  for  her  children,  and  now  it  is  with  great  pleasure  that  we 


556 


SPRINGFIELD,    2636-1886. 


welcome  them  all,  to  partake  with  us   in  the  memories  and  festivities  of  this 
occasion,  as  to  a  famih-  festival  -  Enfield,  Suffield,   and   Somers.  early  wooed 
and  won  by  a  neighboring  State;  Longmeadow,  the  gem  and  tvpe  of  all  that  is 
loveliest  and  best  of  New  England  villages ;  Agawam,  West  Springfield.  Wil- 
braham,   Ludlow,   Hampden,    and   Southwick,    farming   communities,   strong  in 
those   industries    and  virtues,   inherited  from  a  common  ancestrv.  which  have 
made  rural  Xew  England   the  source  from  which  has   ever  flowed  the  best  and 
most   healthful   influences  in  American   civilization;   Westfield,    Chicopee,   and 
Holyoke,  busy  manufacturing  towns,  whose  enterprising  and  ingenious  citizens 
have  taken  possession  of  the  streams  and  rivers,  where  once  the  Indians  fished 
dammed  up  their  swift-flowing  waters,  and  led  them  into  various  channels  of  use- 
fulness, and  made  their  latent  powers  mighty  factors  in  our  development,  fillino- 
all  these  valleys  with  the  cheerful  music  of  busy  and  prosperous  industries.     It 
IS  with  special  pride  that  we  have  witnessed  the  mcreased  population  and  wealth 
and  the  development  of  all  the  resources  at  their  command.     All  are  indeed 
welcome.     Though    geographical   lines    divide  us,    our  mterests    are' one,   and 
together  we  will  review  the  ways   in  which  Providence  has  led  us  throuc^h  the 
difficulties  which  we  have  passed,  thereby  strengthening  our  mutual  dependence 
and  helpfulness. 

We  extend  a  cordial  welcome  to  those,  and  the  descendants  of  those,  who  in 
the  years  that  are  past,  animated  by  the  spirit  and  imbued  with  the  principles  of 
the  first  settlers  of  Springfield,  have  gone  forth  from  this  valley  to  aid  in  building 
up  new  States  and  founding  new  towns,  and  implanting  in  them  that  love  of 
order,  industry,  and  respect  for  the  rights  of  others,  which  characterize  everv 
community  in  which  New  England  influences  prevail.  To  these,  and  all  the  sons 
and  daughters  of  Springfield,  who  have  returned  to  unite  with  us  in  celebrating 
the  event  which  we  here  commemorate,  we  give  a  hearty  and  generous  welcome. 
To  Your  Excellency,  as  the  representative  of  the  Commonwealth,  as  united  to 
us  by  many  ties  of  interest,  of  kindly  association  and  honorable  service  in  our 
behalf,  and  to  all  who  by  tlieir  presence  on  this  occasion  have  contributed  so 
much  in  making  it  memorable  in  the  annals  of  the  city,  we  extend  a  sincere 
Avelcome. 

On  rare  occasions,  it  is  the  custom  in  European  cities  for  the  mayor,  with 
elaborate  and  imposing  ceremonies,  to  give  the  freedom  of  the  citv,  as  an  especial 
honor,  to  the  city's  most  distinguished  guests,  and  now,  in  the  name  of  this  munic- 
ipality, I  would  bestow  the  freedom  of  this,  our  city,  upon  all  who  are  our 
guests,  not  with  the  pomp  and  ceremony  of  those  older  cities,  but  in  plain  New 
England  fashion,  as  becomes  the  descendants  of  the  Puritans,  by  bidding  you  all 
a  most  hearty  and  cordial  welcome. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6.  557 


Judge  Knoavlton.  —The  governor  and  his  associate  executive  officers,  bring- 
ing the  congratulations  and  representing  the  poAver  and  protection  of  tliis  ancient 
Commonwealth,  our  mother  Springfield  greets  with  profound  respect  and  defer- 
ential loyalty.  For  our  chief  magistrate  himself  she  entertains  a  warmer  feeling. 
Since  his  home  is  in  the  family  of  one  of  her  municipal  daughters,  she  calls  him 
her  son  by  adoption,  and  with  parental  pride  claims  a  share  in  the  distinguished 
honor  which  he  has  won  for  himself  and  conferred  upon  his  kindred.  I  present 
you  His  Excellency  the  Governor. 

Governor  Robinson.  —  J/r.  President,  Fellow- Inhabitants  of  Springfield,  and 
all  interested  in  the  delights  of  the  present  occasion,— ^o  gracious  and  cordial  a 
welcome  as  has  been  extended  by  the  chief  magistrate  of  the  city  can  only  be 
met  Avith  the  most  grateful  acceptance ;  and  so,  for  so  much  as  has  been  given  to 
the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  I  do,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the 
Executive  Council,  being  present,  here  and  noAv  accept  it  all  heartily.  (Laugh- 
ter.) It  Avas  a  Avelcome  that  touched  not  alone  the  citizens  of  the  present  Spring- 
field, but  as  Avell  the  residents  in  the  numerous  progeny  of  towns  that  started  out 
from  the  impulse  of  the  first  settlement  and  have  grown  and  thriven  almost  be- 
yond calculation  or  belief,  and  it  reached  even  beyond  these  to  the  thousands 
upon  thousands,  some  of  Avhom  may  have  come  back  here  to-day,  and  others, 
who  from  distant  homes  are  casting  their  hopes,  and  their  thoughts,  and  their 
aspirations,  their  longings  and  then'  loves,  back  here,  to  their  home,  and  Avith  you 
are  deeply  sympathetic  in  the  aspirations  of  this  joyous  occasion.  And  it  goes 
Avider,  I  think,  and  it  takes  in  the  Avhole  people  of  our  beloved  State,  from  one 
boundary  to  the  other. 

HoAv  delightful,  indeed,  it  is  to  gather  Avith  you  at  this  anniversary  of  }our 
natal  day.  To  run  the  thought  back;  to  brighten  in  memory  the  evidences  that 
reach  to  the  beginnhig  of  this  settlement:  to  note  the  struggle  and  the  contest, 
the  endurance  and  the  patience,  the  fortitude  and  courage,  that  began  this  toAvn 
of  Springfield ;  to  note  the  progress  of  your  development ;  to  stand  and  Avatch  as 
generation  after  generation  has  come  upon  and  passed  from  the  stage,  and  now, 
to-day,  Avith  prophetic  eye,  to  look  doAvn  into  the  future,  and  to  imagine,  as  far 
as  Ave  can,  Avhat  it  shall  bring  to  this  community,  and  Avhat  the  fruitage  sliall  be 
of  the  effort  that  Ave  put  forth  in  her  behalf  !  One  may  almost  Avonder,  if  tlie  little 
band  of  early  settlers  could  Avith  mortal  eye  look  in  here  to-day,  Avhat  Avould  be 
their  expression,  and  Avhether  they  Avould,  after  all,  have  so  generous  a  welcome 
for  such  an  assemblage  as  tlie  mayor  has  given.  What  if  they  Avere  to  look  you 
over  in  your  dress  ;  look  at  you  in  your  homes  ;  at  these  decorations  ;  consider 
vour  follies  and  frivolities,  your  wayAvardness   and  your  Avickedness    and   your 


558  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


wanderings,  as  they  would  appreciate  them,  would  they  bid  you  come  to  their 
paternal  acres  and  welcome  you  with  open  arms  and  cordial  homes?  Did  they, 
the  fathers  of  1686,  anticipate  such  a  representation  of  human  beings  as  are 
gathered  within  this  city  to-day?  Were  they  to  walk  up  and  down  these  broad 
and  spacious  streets,  surrounded  on  every  hand  by  thrift,  and  luxury,  and  com- 
fort, they  would  say  that  it  was  extravagance,  without  limit,  and  they  would  not 
restrain  their  voices  from  feverish  and  vigorous  denunciation.  Are  we  welcomed 
to  the  Springfield  of  the  fathers,  or  only  to  the  Springfield  of  the  sons? 

Think  you  that  William  Pynchon  and  his  associates  of  the  early  days  could 
behold  the  transfiguration  of  that  little  settlement  here  into  the  great  city  that 
lies  along  the  borders  of  this  river,  taking  within  its  embrace  the  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  people,  administrating  to  their  wants  and  their  comforts  and  their 
luxuries,  deUghting  itself  with  its  own  development,  astonishing  the  Avorld  with 
its  accomplishments,  and  making  it  pause  to  wonder  what  it  has  for  the  future; 
could  he  have  seen  the  schools  that  have  started  up  innumerable  all  over  the 
Commonwealth;  the  colleges,  the  great  institutions  of  correction,  and  general 
beneficence  to  mankind  —  could  he  have  thought  of  all  this  as  the  outcome  of 
his  efforts  on  this  spot?  Possibly  not;  indeed  it  is  not  probable  that  he  could 
anticipate  it  all.  But  yet  the  chain  is  complete ;  cause  and  effect  follow  each 
other  in  rapid  and  close  succession ;  and  though  he  with  his  eye,  as  prophetic 
as  It  might  be,  could  not  look  down  the  centuries  to  the  present  time,  tracing 
the  progress,  and  binding  it  link  by  link,  after  all  we  can,  as  we  walk 
along  back  and  tread  our  Avay  to  the  beginning,  see  the  close  connection  of  the 
one  with  the  other.  The  little  acorn  that  comes  noiselessly  down  from  yon 
bough  and  drops  at  your  feet  may  be  taken  in  your  hand,  and  if  you  had  never 
seen  another  acorn  or  watched  the  growth  of  the  oak,  you  would  be  at  a  loss  to 
tell  w^hat  developments  were  stored  Avithin.  Now,  no  acorn  of  liberty  had  ever 
fallen  on  such  soil  as  America  at  that  time.  No  one  had  seen  it  bursting  forth 
in  all  its  grandeur  and  magnificence ;  but  the  little  seed  of  liberty,  germinated  in 
this  soil,  became  a  sprout,  then  a  sapling,  and  then  the  mighty  monarch  that  over- 
spreads not  only  this  town  but  the  State,  and  States  upon  States,  the  Union  itself, 
from  ocean  to  ocean.     (Applause.) 

Two  hundred  and  fifty  years  marked  on  the  ages  of  the  past  are  but  a  span, 
and  yet  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  here  designate  the  whole  advance  and 
accomplishment  of  America.  Then,  but  eight  famiUes ;  now,  forty  thousand 
people  Avithin  your  immediate  precincts  and  as  many  more  within  the  territory 
that  IS  allied  to  you  from  the  beginning.  Then,  in  the  State  of  Massachusetts, 
there  was  a  settlement  here  and  there  on  the  eastern  coast ;  now,  nearly  two 
million  of  people  Avithin  our  border.    Then,  no  States,  no  Union ;  now,  one  grand 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  559 


country  of  us  all,  proud  in  her  strength  and  her  freedom,  with  threats  for  none, 
and  with  fear  for  none.      (Applause.) 

A  quarter  of  one  thousand  years  have  passed.  The  same  oceans  bathe  our 
shores  on  either  hand;  the  delightful  river  rolls,  as  then,  noiselessly  to  the  sea; 
over  us  is  arched  the  blue  sky ;  the  rain  falls ;  the  dew  is  dispelled ;  men  grow 
old  and  die ;  God's  bright  constellations  are  set  in  the  heavens  above  by  night, 
as  then ;  and  yet  in  all  that  man  has  done  in  industrial  progress  and  development, 
how  complete  the  change  I  Nature's  sounds  then  delighted  the  ear,  nature's 
decorations  then  pleased  the  eye;  now,  two  thousand  children  are  ready  to  chant 
the  hymn  of  peace  and  success.  Their  sweet  notes  take  the  place  of  the  savage 
cry ;  and  added  to  the  gems  of  nature,  man's  hands  wreathe  the  festoons  of 
beauty,  and  spread  over  all  the  brilliant  light  of  heaven. 

Where  shall  we  look  for  the  sources  of  this  development?  Touching  the 
springs  of  their  power  we  shall  fail  of  our  duty  if  we  do  not  represent,  as  far  as 
may  be,  the  same  influences,  so  that  a  quarter  of  a  thousand  years  hence  men 
may  rise  up  and  call  us  blessed.  The  founders  of  this  community,  as  of  others 
scattered  through  our  Commomvealth  and  in  New  England,  had  confidence  in 
man.  They  put  their  trust  in  manhood,  pure,  upright,  courageous,  enduring, 
fearless,  God-fearing  men,  and  they  recognized  their  duty  to  contribute  in  every 
possible  way  to  the  development  of  that  manhood.  As  the  right  of  that  man- 
hood, first  and  foremost,  they  placed  his  liberty,  and  they  came  to  this  country 
that  they  might  have  a  fair,  free  field  for  its  exercise.  That  he  might  appreciate 
his  freedom,  and  that  he  might  write  out  on  the  pages  of  history  the  grandest 
achievements,  they  made  him  an  educated  man;  they  cultivated  his  mind,  puri- 
fied his  heart ;  they  lifted  up  his  soul.  And  the  men  of  that  time  hesitated  not 
to  put  their  hands  to  toil.  It  Avas  no  fashion  of  that  time  to  be  ashamed  of  man- 
ual labor.  It  was  then  creditable  for  a  man  to  earn  his  daily  bread.  Looking 
back  we  waste  our  symj)athy  upon  the  people  of  that  early  day  if  we  carry  them 
condolence,  because  they  Avere  obliged  to  labor  day  by  day.  AVhy,  that  very 
strife  against  the  elements  of  nature,  that  fight  for  life  itself,  brought  out  the 
strength  Avithin  them,  and  made  them  the  brighter  and  better  men ;  gave  them 
families  of  children  that  generation  upon  generation  have  blessed  the  people  for 
them.  No  puny,  sickly,  sentimental,  maAvkish  specimens  Ave  are  forced  to  call 
humanity,  but  good,  strong,  energetic,  tough-fibred,  moral,  upright,  religious  men 
and  Avomen.  But  given  liberty,  given  education,  given  the  fruits  of  toil,  there 
Avas  needed  the  restraint  of  laAv,  and  that  the  fathers  supplied.  Liberty,  not 
license ;  freedom,  and  yet  a  recognition  of  the  equal  rights  of  others ;  and  that 
they  Avorked  into  the  foundation  of  the  government,  so  that  it  has  stood  in  firm 
security  to  the  present  time. 


560  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

What  Avonder.  then,  that  we  observe  the  accomplishments  of  to-day?  Whj', 
from  that  class  of  men  and  from  that  character  floA^ed  inevitably  the  current  of 
life  that  has  marked  the  development  of  American  freedom;  just  as  naturally  as 
the  breath  in  the  living  human  body  came  the  great  advance  in  our  history.  It 
Avould  have  been  impossible  that  there  should  have  been  no  Lexington,  no 
Bunker  Hill,  no  Concord.  It  Avould  have  been  impossible  that  whenever  the  cry 
to  arms  came  the  people  should  fail.  It  could  not  have  been  that  when  the 
Union  itself  was  endangered  and  liberty  threatened,  that  the  young  men,  valiant 
and  strong,  Avould  skulk  in  their  homes.  It  is  not  surprising  that  yonder  monu- 
ment points  to  heaven,  and  points  also  to  the  character  and  inspiration  of  the 
men  who,  true  to  the  deeds  of  the  fathers,  were  Avilling  to  save  for  the  future 
Avhat  had  been  guaranteed  to  them.  Massachusetts  Avould  fail  to  express  the 
force  of  her  presence  if  she  did  not  recognize  her  obligation  to  be  here,  and  to 
express  her  full,  cordial,  and  abundant  salutation  to  Springfield.  Wherever  the 
good  people  of  the  State  come  together,  to  greet  each  other  eye  to  eye,  grasp 
each  other  in  friendly  hand ;  Avherever  the  toAvn  and  city  and  th©-  people  are 
striving  and  uplifting  the  A^hole  ;  Avherever  human  rights  are  regarded  :  Avherever 
the  people  are  vigilant  that  none,  even  the  humblest  and  Aveakest,  shall  suffer, 
there  is  the  inspiration  of  Massachusetts,  true  to  her  past,  and  there  should  be 
her  presence  in  full  poAver. 

What  shall  be  AA^ritten  of  the  next  tAvo  hundred  and  fifty  years?  We  shall  not 
be  here  to  Avitness  their  close.  A  few  more  mounds  by  the  hillside  Avill  testify  of 
us.  One  after  another  is  gathered  to  the  dust  of  the  valley ;  but  pity,  indeed,  it 
is  if  that  is  all  Ave  leave  for  testimony.  Though  Ave  may  not  be  present,  Spring- 
field Avill  be  here ;  Massachusetts  assuredly  Avill  come,  and  the  great  Union  of 
America  in  benignity  and  prosperity  will  regard  Avith  glorious  benediction  the 
triumphs  Avon.  It  shall  be  for  you,  as  far  as  lies  in  your  poAver,  to  Avrite  the  page 
of  history,  and  it  is  your  duty  to  make  it  noAv.  The  present  is  all  Ave  can  touch, 
and  doing  our  duty  properly  in  the  present  hour,  seeing  to  it  that  Ave  set  as  high 
an  appreciation  on  jjrivate  and  public  virtue  as  our  fathers  did ;  regarding  per- 
sonal character  as  of  the  highest  importance  in  the  estimate  of  citizenship; 
remembering  that  the  country  Avill  ever  set  a  high  value  on  purity,  honesty, 
cleanness  and  squareness  of  demeanor  and  conduct,  and  that  truthfulness  to 
one's  w^ord,  fidelity  to  man  and  to  God,  are  yet  a  poAver,  and  are  yet  of  saving 
influence,  and  constitute  the  abundant  guaranty  of  the  future. 

Judge  Knoavlton.  — Springfield,  like  many  another  matron,  is  proud  of  her 
groAvn-up  daughters.  This  is  her  day  of  thanksgiving,  and  gathered  around  her 
hearthstone  she  sees  them  all  —  West  Springfield,  Westfield,  AgaAvam,  South- 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  561 

wick,  Holyoke,  Chicopee,  Ludlow,  Wilbraham,  Hampden,  Longmeadow,  Somers, 
Enfield,  Suflfield.  She  would  hear  of  their  prosperity  and  their  progress,  and 
whether  they  often  think  of  the  days  of  their  childhood,  when  they  sat  by  her 
fireside  and  were  folded  in  her  embrace.  I  call  upon  Hon.  John  L.  Houston,  of 
Enfield. 

Mr.  Houston.  —  Mr.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen,  —  When  the  invita- 
tion of  your  committee  came  over  the  border  to  me,  a  few  days  ago,  urging  me 
to  come  and  take  part  in  the  literary  exercises  of  this  occasion,  my  first  feeling 
was  one  of  wonder  and  astonishment  that  they  should  request  a  native  and  citizen 
of  Connecticut  to  take  a  formal  part  in  a  local  celebration  in  Massachusetts.  But 
a  little  reflection  satisfied  me  that  there  might  be  method  in  this  seeming  mad- 
ness, and  that  there  were,  at  least,  plausible  reasons  why  the  Connecticut  town 
of  Enfield  should  receive  such  an  invitation.  For,  in  recounting  the  historical 
events,  traditions,  and  reminiscences  of  Springfield,  the  name  of  Pynchon  be 
a  name  to  "conjure  with,"  as  it  certainly  is,  then  may  we,  natives  of  the 
river  border  of  Enfield,  well  lay  claim  to  be  "  sons  of  the  soil."  We  were 
born  and  have  lived  upon,  and  the  ashes  of  our  dead  are  mingled  Avitli,  the 
soil  once  owned  and  dominated  by  Pynchons.  One  of  the  earliest  Avonders 
and  mysteries  of  my  childhood  was  the  grist-mill  located  near  my  birthplace 
(where  it  still  stands  doing  its  useful  work  to-day),  the  lineal  descendant,  if 
I  may  so  speak,  of  the  grist-mill  erected  by  Major  Pynchon  sometime  during 
the  seventeenth  century.  The  extensive  manufacturing  corporation  Avith  which 
I  am  officially  connected  traces  the  title  to  its  real  estate  back  to  the  days 
and  the  persons  of  the  Pynchons ;  and  the  control  which  it  exercises  OA^er 
the  stream  on  Avhose  banks  its  manufactory  is  located,  and  Avhich  is  essential  to 
its  operation,  is  based  upon  a  grant  given  by  the  plantation  of  Springfield  to 
Major  Pynchon  more  than  tAvo  centuries  ago.  Certainly,  in  all  the  early 
historic  events  and  traditions  to  Avhich  Springfield  so  fondly  clings,  we  natives 
of  the  toAvn  of  Enfield  cling  as  fondly  and  share  as  full  an  interest  in  as  do 
you. 

But  I  must  not  forget  that  my  duty  here  and  noAv  is  to  respond,  very  briefly, 
to  the  warm  and  generous  A\'ords  of  Avelcome  just  uttered  by  his  Honor  the  Mayor, 
so  far  as  they  apply  to  the  thirteen  toAvns  that  have,  first  and  last,  during  the  past 
tAvo  and  a  half  centuries,  been  carved  from  the  territory  of  old  Springfield. 
Springfield  has  indeed  been  a  bountiful  mother,  and  has  given  to  each  one  of  her 
children  a  magnificent  doAvry;  and  they,  emulating  her  thrifty  example,  have 
each  and  all  made  good  use  of  their  heritage.  Time  Avill  not  permit,  and  if  it  did 
I  am  not  capable  of  doing  justice  to  the  distinguishing  traits  of  each  one  of  these 


562  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


offshoots  from  the  parent  stem;  but  as  a  group,  and  especially  as  associated  A^ith 
the  mother  town,  they  together  make  up  one  of  the  noblest  garden  spots  of  the 
world. 

A  territory  watered  by  noble  streams,  covered  by  a  rich  and  responsive  soil, 
displaying  nearly  all  varieties  of  scenery  to  charm  and  dehght  the  senses,  dotted 
all  over  with  churches,  school-houses,  and  institutions  of  beneficence  ;  with  numer- 
ous busy  hives  of  industry  Avhose  productions,  useful  and  beautiful,  are  knoAvn 
as  widely  as  civilization  extends  ;  and  more  and  better  than  all,  a  territory  abound- 
ing in  the  happy  homes  of  an  industrious,  self-respecting,  intelligent,  and  virtuous 
people,  —  truly  can  we  all  say  that  ''our  lines  have  fallen  to  us  in  pleasant 
places,"  and  '-we  have  a  goodly  heritage." 

Mr.  Mayor,  in  behalf  of  these  thirteen  outlying  towns,  I  beg  to  assure  you 
that  we  all  reciprocate  the  feelings  that  prompted  you  to  utter  your  words  of 
hearty  and  sincere  welcome  to  us,  and  we  here  and  now  join  with  you  and  the 
beautiful  city  over  which  it  is  your  high  duty  to  keep  watch  and  ward,  in  acknowl- 
edging the  debt  of  gratitude  Ave  all  owe  to  those  early  colonists  wKb,  through 
hardships,  the  story  of  which  has  been  Init  half  told,  and  through  great  tribula- 
tion, redeemed  this  fair  heritage  of  ours  from  savagery,  and  dedicated  it  forever 
to  freedom  and  the  blessings  of  a  Christian  civiUzation. 

The  relation  of  the  Springfield  of  to-day  to  these  outlying  towns  is  aptly  char- 
acterized, I  think,  by  the  simile  you  have  yourself  so  happily  chosen, —  the  simile 
of  a  queenly  mother  to  her  fair  and  comely  daughters ;  and  on  this  most  inter- 
esting occasion,  this  tAvo  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary,  we,  the  daughters, 
gather  from  all  points  on  the  outer  circle  at  this  maternal  home  to  say  Hail ! 
and  God  bless !  —  not  to  a  venerable  and  wrinkled  dame,  stricken  in  years 
or  by  decrepitude,  but  rather  to  a  stately  matron,  clothed  to-day  Avith  more 
queenly  grace  and  beauty  than  ever  before,  and  still  blooming  Avith  Adrginal 
charms. 

And  if  continued  lack  of  appreciation  at  the  White  House  in  Washington 
shall  forever  debar  this  good  old  mother  toAvn  of  ours  from  becoming  a  port 
of  delivery;  if  no  stately  custom-house  is  ever  to  vie  in  goodly  proportions 
Avith  the  great  arsenal  on  yonder  "heaven  kissing  hill";  if  no  dignified  col- 
lector of  the  port  is  ever  to  become  a  prominent  figure  in  her  social  circles ;  yet 
she  Avill  ever  have  the  fuller  satisfaction,  one  that  no  veto  from  any  quarter  can 
ever  deprive  her  of,  that  she  is  surrounded  Avith  a  galaxy  of  thirteen  beautiful 
and  dutiful  daughters,  all  proud  of  her  honorable  history,  all  jealous  of  her  good 
name  and  fair  fame,  and  Avho  Avill  ever  affectionately  regard  her  as  the  peerless 
queen  of  the  Connecticut  valley. 


SPRINGFIELD,    163G-1SS6.  563 


This  anniversary  hymn,  written  by  E.  Porter  Dyer,  was  then  sung 
by  the  Orpheus  Club  :  — 

O  God  of  our  fathers !     Their  guide  and  their  shield, 
Who  marked  out  their  pathway  through  forest  and  field, 
"We  stand  where  they  stood  and  with  anthems  of  praise, 
Acknowledge  thy  goodness,  O  Ancient  of  Days! 

Thou  leddest  thy  people  of  old  like  a  flock; 
They  trusted  in  thee  as  their  Sheltering  Rock ; 
The  centuries  pass  —  thou  art  ever  the  same, 
And  children  of  children  still  trust  in  thy  name. 

'Twas  here  in  the  wilderness,  silent,  untamed, 
The  gospel  of  freedom  and  grace  they  proclaimed,  — 
The  gospel  of  home,  of  the  school,  of  the  plough, — 
And  this  City  of  Homes  is  their  monument  now. 

O  God  of  our  fathers!     By  river  and  wood, 
"Where  Pynchon,  and  Holyoke,  and  Chapin  abode. 
Our  heritage  blossoms  w^ith  glory  and  praise 
To  thee,  their  defender,  O  Ancient  of  Days! 

Judge  Knowlton  —  Fifty  years  ago  Springfield  gathered  her  children  about 
her  as  she  has  done  to-day,  and  told  them  the  story  of  her  life,  and  taught  them 
fitting  lessons,  by  the  lips  of  one  whom  many  of  us  remember,  who  was  for  a 
long  time  prominent  in  the  progress  of  the  town,  Hon.  Oliver  B.  Morris.  The 
mantle  of  history,  then  so  worthily  worn,  has  fallen  upon  the  shoulders  of  his 
eldest  son,  who  from  youth  to  advanced  age  has  never  ceased  to  reflect  honor 
upon  his  native  town,  and  in  recent  times  has  done  more  than  any  other  to  em- 
balm in  pure  English  the  memory  of  her  early  years.  I  introduce  our  historian, 
Judge  Henry  Morris  :  — 

Judge  Mouris.  —  So  far  as  knoAvn,  there  has  been  but  one  attempt  before  this 
to  celebrate  the  anniversary  of  the  first  settlement  of  the  town  of  Springfield. 
Fifty  years  ago  this  day  its  bi-centennial  was  observed.  It  was  an  occasion  of  great 
interest  to  this  toAvn,  and  other  tow-ns  in  this  vicinity.  People  flocked  here  from 
far  and  near.  After  a  long  procession  through  our  streets,  with  a  military 
escort  and  music,  an  address  was  deUvered  in  the  ancient  First  Church,  fronting 
on  Court  square,  and  other  appropriate  services  held,  including  prayer  by  Rev. 
Dr.  Osgood,  anthems  by  the  choir,  under  the  direction  of  Col.  Solomon  "Warriner, 
and  the  singing,  as  a  solo,  by  a  lady    still  residing  here,  of  the  hymn  of  Mrs. 


564  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

Hemans,  entitled  ••  Landing  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers."  After  the  services  at  the 
church,  the  procession  was  reformed  and  marched  to  the  Town  Hall,  where  a 
collation  was  served,  and  brief  speeches  made  by  invited  guests  and  others. 
The  late  George  Bliss  presided  at  the  Town  Hall.  Edward  Everett,  then  governor 
of  the  Commonwealth,  was  present  at  the  celebration  with  his  military  staff,  and 
other  distinguished  citizens  from  abroad.  Robert  C.  Winthrop  Avas  here  as  one 
of  the  governor's  aids. 

It  was  my  fortune,  then  a  young  man,  to  be  present,  and  to  unite  in  the  re- 
joicings of  that  time.  In  the  words  of  the  orator  of  that  day,  "  the  occasion 
was  one  of  deep  and  joyful  interest,  one  on  which  to  do  homage  to  the  memory 
of  our  fathers,  to  examine  the  record  of  their  history,  and  to  bow  in  humble 
gratitude  to  Heaven  that  we  are  descended  from  a  most  worthy  ancestry."  In  the 
same  spirit  let  us  enter  upon  the  present  occasion.  As  this  day  is  particularly 
an  anniversary  of  the  original  settlement  of  the  town,  I  propose,  in  this  address, 
to  confine  myself  to  the  circumstances  attending  that  settlement,  Avith  some  notice 
of  the  men  and  women  who  bore  a  part  in  it,  without  attempting  to  detail  at 
length  the  subsequent  history  of  the  town  through  the  two  centuries  and  a  half 
that  have  followed.  Any  attempt  at  such  a  detail  would  require  a  volume,  and 
could  not  fail  to  try  the  patience  of  the  hearers  and  exhaust  the  strength  of  the 
speaker. 

The  return  of  the  two  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  founding  of 
such  a  town  as  ours  is  an  event  that  will  justify  us  in  suspending  for  the  time 
our  ordinary  pursuits,  that  we  may  recall  to  mind  the  origin  of  the  toAvn,  and 
note  the  contrast  between  its  humble  beginning  and  its  condition  at  the  present 
moment.  It  must  be  interesting,  and  ought  to  be  useful  to  us  as  a  people,  to  re- 
view the  circumstances  that  gave  birth  to  this  place,  which  we  call,  and  are  proud 
to  call,  our  home,  —  a  place  to  which  Ave  are  bound  by  so  many  ties  of  interest 
and  affection,  and  around  Avhich  so  many  of  our  hopes  cluster. 

"We  find  ourseh'es  to-day  the  occupants  of  one  of  the  most  delightful  spots  in 
the  Avorld.  No  A^alley  fairer  than  this  of  the  Connecticut  can  be  found  any- 
where,—  no  soil  yielding  the  cultivator  a  richer  return  for  his  labor,  —  no 
streams  that  contribute  more  freely  their  forces  to  propel  the  machinery  that 
giA^es  life  and  activity  to  the  mechanic  arts,  for  Avhich  this  valley  is  so  famous, 
and  which  furnishes  so  much  employment  to  the  capital  and  industry  of  its 
residents. 

Tavo  centuries  and  a  half  ago  this  lovely  valley  Avas  a  Avaste,  inhabited  only 
by  the  savages  that  roamed  through  its  Avilds.  It  is  hard  for  us  to  realize  that 
in  this  valley,  and  on  these  charming  hillsides,  uoav  so  rich  in  the  tokens  of 
ijivilization  and  culture,  the  rude  wigAvams  of  the  red  men  were  once  seen, —  that 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  565 


in  these  forests,  which  then  covered  these  plains,  they  hunted  their  game,  and 
in  these  rivers  they  caught  their  fish.  Their  agricultural  industry  was  limited 
to  the  gathering  of  such  grains  as  grew  spontaneously  or  with  little  cultivation. 
Their  mechanic  arts  went  no  further  than  the  manufacture  of  bows  and  arroAvs, 
or  the  construction  of  their  canoes  and  the  rude  stone  vessels  in  which  they 
cooked  or  kept  their  food.  Such  relics  of  the  Indian  as  these  have  been  found 
all  through  this  valley  within  a  few  years  past,  and  probably  may  still  be 
found  by  any  Avho  Avill  search  for  them. 

How  changed  is  the  valley  now  I  And  how  has  this  great  change  been 
effected?  By  what  agencies  has  this,  that  was  once  a  wilderness,  been  con- 
verted into  the  abode  of  civilized  man?  Let  us  look  back  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years  and  discover,  if  Ave  can,  the  causes  and  trace  the  progress  of  this 
change  from  its  beginning  to  the  present  time. 

Tavo  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  the  Old  World,  Aveary  of  the  burden  of  forms 
that  had  been  the  groAvth  of  centuries  of  ignorance  and  oppression,  began  to 
reach  forth  tOAvard  a  neAv  and  better  state  of  things.  The  discoveries  of  voy- 
agers had  revealed  to  Europe  this  continent  in  the  Avest  as  an  open  field  for 
its  enterprise,  and  the  Old  World  began  at  once  to  seek  a  better  home  in  the 
NeAv.  Old  systems  of  government  began  to  be  distrusted,  and  old  forms  of  re- 
ligion began  to  be  discarded.  The  minds  of  men  craved  a  change  Avhich  should 
give  them  better  and  more  hopeful  conditions  of  living.  The  Ncav  World  opened 
to  the  Old  just  such  a  field  as  it  aspired  to  possess.  As  a  consequence  of  this, 
everyAvhere  through  England  a  spirit  of  emigration  arose,  and  men  Avho  had 
chafed  under  the  oppressions  of  an  arbitrary  gOA^ernment,  and  desired  greater 
freedom  of  conscience  in  religion,  and  greater  security  in  their  persons  and 
property,  determined  to  seek  a  neAv  home  Avest  of  the  Atlantic. 

AVith  this  object  in  vieAv,  several  influential  gentlemen  in  England  solicited 
and  obtained  from  King  Charles  I.  a  charter  Avhich  created  them  a  corpora- 
tion by  the  name  of  the  "  Governor  and  Company  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in 
NeAv  England."  This  charter  granted  all  the  lands  in  Ncav  England  from  a  line 
running  Avesterly  three  miles  north  of  the  Merrimac  river  to  a  line  running 
westerly  three  miles  south  of  the  Charles  river,  and  three  miles  south  of  every 
part  of  it.     The  grant  to  extend  from  the  Atlantic  ocean  to  the  South  Sea. 

The  charter  designated  by  name  all  the  members  of  the  corporation,  and 
prescribed  that  the  officers  of  the  Company  should  consist  of  a  governor,  a 
deputy  governor,  and  eighteen  assistants,  Avho  should  be  elected  annually  from 
the  freemen  of  the  Company.  As  it  Avas  the  purpose  of  the  Company  to  send 
out  a  colony  to  settle  in  New  England,  the  question  early  arose  Avhether  the 
charter  of  the  Company  should  be  transferred  Avith  this  colony  to  New  England, 


566  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


or  Avhether  it  should  remain  lu  the  mother  country.  After  much  debate  and 
careful  consideration,  it  was  decided  by  vote  on  the  29th  August,  1629,  that  the 
charter  should  be  transferred  with  the  proposed  colony  to  New  England,  and  the 
government  of  it  settled  there.  This  rendered  necessary  a  new  election  of  oflS- 
cers  from  among  those  members  of  the  Company  who  proposed  to  emigrate  and 
settle  in  New  England.  Accordingly,  at  a  General  Court  or  meeting  of  the  Com- 
pany, held  in  London  on  the  20th  of  October,  1629,  John  Winthrop  was  chosen 
governor,  John  Humfry  deputy  governor,  with  eighteen  assistants;  William 
Pynchon  being  one  of  the  assistants.  Humfry  soon  afterward  resigned  the 
office  of  deputy  governor,   and  Thomas  Dudley  Avas  chosen  in  his  place. 

In  pursuance  of  the  plan  of  colonizing  New  England,  the  Company  had  pre- 
viously sent  out  a  pioneer  party  under  John  Endicott,  as  its  leader  or  governor. 
This  party  had  located  at  Naumkeag,  now  Salem,  where  they  founded  a  church 
Avith  Messrs.  Skelton  and  Higginson  as  its  ministers.  A  much  larger  number 
was  now  prepared  to  move  to  America,  in  all  about  fifteen  hundred.  The 
transportation  of  such  a  body  of  colonists  at  that  time  Avas  a  Avork  of  serious 
difficulty,  and  required  careful  proA'ision  of  stores  for  their  support  during  the 
voyage,  and  on  their  arrival  in  America. 

On  the  20th  day  of  March,  in  the  year  1630,  four  ships  Avere  riding  at  anchor 
in  the  harbor  of  CoAves,  a  seaport  of  the  Isle  of  Wight,  Avaiting  for  a  favorable 
opportunity  to  begin  a  voyage  to  the  Ncav  World.  These  ships  Avere  a  part  of 
the  fleet  fitted  out  by  the  Company  for  the  transportation  of  emigrants  and 
their  families,  Avho  had  determined  to  settle  in  NeAv  England.  John  Winthrop, 
the  governor,  and  Thomas  Dudley,  the  deputy  governor,  were  on  board  ships 
of  this  fleet  AA'ith  their  families.  William  Pynchon,  the  founder  of  Sjjringfield, 
was  also  on  board  Avith  his  Avife,  his  son  John,  and  three  daughters. 

Mr.  Pynchon  Avas  a  man  of  honorable  lineage.  His  great-grandfather, 
Nicholas  Pynchon,  Avas  one  of  the  sheriffs  of  London  in  the  reign  of  Henry 
VIII.  This  Avas  a  station  of  dignity  and  importance.  The  home  of  Mr.  Pyn- 
chon, the  emigrant,  in  England,  had  been  at  Springfield,  in  the  county  of  Essex, 
about  one  mile  from  Chelmsford,  the  shire  toAvn  of  tlie  county.  He  Avas  a  man 
of  learning  and  talent,  accustomed  to  close  thought,  and  could  give  a  reason 
for  his  opinions.  He  M^as  evidently  familiar  Avith  the  pursuits  and  methods  of 
business.  As  such  he  Avas  afterAvard  chosen  to  be  the  treasurer  of  the  Com- 
pany. No  person  could  have  been  selected  to  hold  such  office  of  trust  as  he 
held,  unless  his  associates  had  full  confidence  in  bis  capacity  and  integrity. 

When  the  fleet  left  its  anchorage,  near  the  Isle  of  AVight,  England  and  Spain 
Avere  at  Avar.  Their  hostilities  Avere  carried  on  principally  on  the  sea.  It  Avas 
understood  the    cruisers    from  Dunkirk,  then  a  port   of    the    Spanish  Nether- 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1 88  6.  567 


lands,  were  lying  in  wait  for  the  emigrant  ships  destined  for  Xew  England. 
Hence  it  became  important  for  these  four  ships  to  adopt  measures  for  mutual 
defence  and  aid.  For  this  purpose  all  the  ships  were  armed,  and  to  each  ship 
was  assigned  a  particular  post  of  duty.  To  the  "  Arbella,"  a  ship  named  after 
Lady  Arbella,  wife  of  Isaac  Johnson,  a  lady  of  high  rank  in  England,  Avas  as- 
signed the  place  and  title  of  Admiral.  The  "Talbot"  was  appointed  to  be 
vice-admiral,  the  "Ambrose"  rear  admiral,  and  the  "Jewel"  a  captain.  IVIr. 
Pynchon  and  his  family  were  on  board  the  "Jewel." 

There  was  but  little  favorable  Aveather  before  the  8th  of  April,  when  the  fleet 
weighed  anchor.  (3n  the  morning  of  April  9  there  Avas  quite  an  alarm.  Eight 
sail  Avere  descried  astern,  Avhich  Avere  at  first  supposed  to  be  Spanish  cruisers 
from  Dunkirk,  Avaiting  for  the  emigrant  ships.  "Wherefore,"  as  Governor 
Winthrop  says  in  his  journal,  "  Ave  all  prepared  to  fight  Avith  them.  The  Lady 
Arbella  and  the  other  Avomen  and  children  were  removed  into  the  loAver  deck,  that 
they  might  be  out  of  danger.  All  things  being  thus  fitted,  we  Avent  to  prayer 
upon  the  upper  deck.  It  Avas  much  to  see  hoAv  cheerful  and  comfortable  all  the 
Company  appeared,  not  a  Avoman  or  child  that  shoAved  fear,  though  all  did  ap- 
prehend the  danger  to  have  been  great."  "  Our  trust  Avas  in  the  Lord  of  Hosts, 
and  the  courage  of  our  captain,  and  his  care  and  diligence,  did  much  to  en- 
courage us."  There  Avas  some  sickness  among  the  passengers,  especially  the 
children.  AVinthrop  says,  "  Our  children  and  others  that  Avere  sick,  and  lay 
groaning  in  the  cabins,  Ave  fetched  out,  and  having  stretched  a  rope  from  the 
steerage  to  the  mainmast,  Ave  made  them  stand,  some  on  the  one  side  and  some 
on  the  other,  and  SAvay  it  up  and  doAvn  till  they  Avere  Avarm,  and  by  this  means 
they  soon  greAv  Avell  and  merry." 

The  emigrants  suffered  from  the  high  Avinds  and  extreme  cold  Avliich  pre- 
vailed the  greater  part  of  the  voyage.  Their  attention,  as  they  approached 
America,  Avas  called  to  certain  facts,  ucav  to  their  experience,  Avhich  Winthrop 
mentions  in  his  journal.  The  declination  of  the  pole  star  Avas  much  loAver  than 
in  England ;  the  ncAv  moon  Avas  much  smaller,  and  the  sun  did  not  give  as  much 
heat  as  in  England.  On  June  7  Winthrop  says  they  put  their  ship  "  a-stays," 
and  Avith  a  few  hooks  took,  in  less  than  tAvo  hours,  sixty-seven  codfish,  most 
of  them  very  great  fish,  some  a  yard  and  a  half  long  and  a  yard  in  compass." 
This  Avas  a  very  seasonable  supply  for  the  passengers,  Avho  had  noAv  been  sixty- 
eight  days  on  board  ship.  On  Tuesday,  June  8,  they  saAv  land  about  ten  leagues 
distant.  Avhich  they  supposed  to  be  the  island  of  Monhegan,  but  Avhich  proved  to  be 
Mount  Desert.  "  They  had  noAv,"  AVinthrop  says,  "  fair  sunshine  and  so  pleas- 
ant a  sAveet  air  as  did  much  refresh  them;  and  there  came  a  smell  ofE  the  shore 
like  the  smell  of  a  garden."     Friday.  June  11,  they  Avere  all  day  Avithin  sight  of 


5^S  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


Cape  Ann  and  the  Isles  of  Shoals.  On  Saturday,  June  12,  they  were  near  their 
destined  port.  This  was  at  Naumkeag,  the  Indian  name  of  Salem.  That  day 
they  were  visited  by  John  Endicott,  the  founder  of  Salem,  and  by  Mr.  Skelton, 
the  minister  of  the  place.  On  their  return  to  Salem,  these  gentlemen  were  ac- 
companied by  Governor  Winthrop  and  some  of  the  assistants,  and  some  of  the 
women.  There,  Winthrop  says,  ''we  supped  Avith  a  good  vension  pasty  and 
good  beer,  and  at  night  returned  to  our  ship;  but  some  of  the  women  stayed 
behind."  While  the  chiefs  of  the  party  Avere  thus  entertained,  the  greater  part 
of  the  voyagers  went  on  shore  upon  the  land  of  Cape  Ann,  which  lay  very  near, 
and  gathered  store  of  fine  strawberries."  Such  was  the  introduction  to  Massa- 
chusetts of  that  portion  of  our  fathers  Avho  "  came  in  the  fleet  with  Winthrop." 
It  Avas  not  the  purpose  of  those  Avho  came  to  colonize  New  England  to  estab- 
lis  themselves  at  Salem  as  the  guests  of  Mr.  Endicott.  They  began  at  once  to 
look  for  desirable  places  in  the  vicinity  of  Massachusetts  Bay  in  Avliich  to  plant 
settlements.  Boston,  CharlestoAvn,  WatertoAvn,  and  Dorchester  Avere  speedily 
occupied.  Pynchon  selected  Koxbury  as  the  site  for  his  home,  and  became  the 
founder  of  that  toAvn.  His  Avife  died  soon  after  landing  in  America,  leaving  one 
son  and  three  daughters.  Mr.  Pynchon  afterAvard  married,  as  his  second  Arife, 
Mrs.  Frances  Sanford,  Avho  is  described  in  the  Roxbury  Church  records  as  "a 
grave  matron  of  the  church  at  Dorchester."  He  had  no  children  by  his  second 
Avife. 

Soon  after  the  colonists  arrived  in  New  England  an  Indian  chief  from  Con- 
necticut river,  named  Wahginnacut,  called  upon  Governor  Winthrop  at  Boston 
and  urged  that  some  of  the  English  should  visit  the  valley  of  the  Connecticut 
and  settle  there.  He  described  the  soil  as  fertile,  and  promised  to  give  eighty 
beaver  skins  yearly  to  the  settlers  Avho  should  come  to  the  valley.  This  invita- 
tion, although,  from  motives  of  policy,  not  accepted  at  that  time,  produced  an 
impression  upon  the  minds  of  some  of  the  colonists  AA-hich  was  not  at  once 
effaced.  And  now,  when  the  most  desirable  places  about  the  bay  had  been  taken 
up  and  occupied  by  emigrants,  and  they  felt  straitened  by  the  nearness  to  each 
other,  there  sprung  up  in  the  minds  of  many  a  longing  for  ncAv  plantations,  and 
perhaps  better  ones,  for  themselves  and  their  increased  stock  of  cattle.  From 
many  of  the  toAvns  about  Boston  there  came  petitions  to  the  General  Court  for 
authority  to  remove  "  themselves  and  their  estates  to  the  Ryver  of  Connecticut," 
of  whose  attractions  so  much  had  been  said.  Liberty  had  been  granted  to  some 
of  the  petitioners  to  remove,  as  prayed  for,  upon  the  condition  that  they  should 
continue  under  the  government  of  Massachusetts  bay.  Cambridge  people  had 
migrated  to  Hartford,  Dorchester  to  Windsor,  and  WatertoAvn  to  Wethersfield, 
and  began  ncAV  settlements  at  those  points  on  the  river. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  569 


The  emigrating  party  from  Koxbury  did  not  so  soon  commence  a  new  settle- 
ment in  the  Connecticut  valley,  but  Mr.  Pynchon  sent  two  men  liere  to  explore 
and  occupy  a  part  of  the  valley,  preparatory  to  the  removal  of  his  family  and 
the  actual  planting  of  a  new  settlement.  One  John  Cable  came  here  in  1635 
from  the  bay  with  John  Woodcock,  and  built  a  small  house  on  the  west  side  of 
the  Connecticut  and  south  side  of  the  Agawam  river,  in  a  meadow,  vhich,  from 
that  circumstance,  was  long  known  as  "  House  meadow."  These  men  occupied 
this  house  that  summer,  and  the  "  old  Indian  ground"  about  it,  but  abandoned  it 
later,  on  being  informed  by  the  Indians  that  the  spot  was  liable  to  be  overflowed 
in  time  of  frieshets.  There  can  be  but  little  doubt  that  Mr.  Pynchon  liimself  came 
to  this  valley  as  early  as  1635,  to  satisfy  himself  of  its  eligibility  as  the  site  of  a 
new  plantation.  He  was  certainly  absent  from  the  General  Court  that  met 
September  1,  1635.  His  absence  from  such  a  meeting  Avas  unusual,  and  can  Avell 
be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  he  was  then  occupied  in  examining  the  place 
in  this  valley  which  he  designed  for  his  future  home  and  that  of  the  friends  who 
should  follow  his  lead.  Until  he  himself  had  seen  the  flowing  streams  and  fertile 
meadows  of  Avhich  the  Indian  chief  had  given  such  a  glowing  description,  and 
had  ascertained  the  advantages  of  the  place  for  his  beaver  trade,  it  is  hardly 
probable  that  a  man  of  Pynchoii's  caution  would  have  hazarded  a  step  attended 
with  so  much  peril  as  the  removal  of  his  family  and  his  j)roperty  from  the  bay 
to  the  river.  It  was  not  an  enterprise  to  be  undertaken  without  careful  consid- 
eration of  its  difficulties  and  dangers. 

It  Avas  doubtless  after  a  thorough  personal  investigation  of  the  subject  that 
Pynchon  and  his  associates  came  here  early  in  the  year  1636,  and  prepared  for  a 
permanent  settlement  in  this  place,  Avhich  was  known  to  them  by  its  Indian 
name  of  Agawam.  By  this  name  Avas  understood  not  merely  the  tributary  of 
the  Connecticut,  still  called  by  that  name,  and  the  meadow  bordering  upon  it, 
but  also  the  interval  land  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  now  the  site  of  our  city. 
This  Avas  all  called  Agawam  for  scAcral  years.  In  much  the  same  Avay  the  term 
Connecticut  Avas  at  first  applied  to  designate  all  the  plantations  on  the  riA^er.  The 
General  Court  of  Massachusetts  claimed  and  exercised  the  jurisdiction  over  all 
of  them,  Avhen  first  settled,  and  appointed  commissioners  to  govern  them.  Koger 
LudloAv,  of  Windsor,  and  AYilliam  Pynchon  Avere  members  of  this  commission. 
In  fact,  the  geography  of  the  Connecticut  valley  Avas  not  perfectly  understood, 
or  the  boundary  line  between  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  settled,  for  a  long 
time  after  the  plantations  on  the  river  Avere  established.  Connecticut  claimed 
Springfield  and  Westfield  as  falling  Avithin  the  patent  of  Connecticut.  And 
Springfield  Avas  represented  in  the  General  Court  at  Hartford  in  1636  by  deputies 
chosen  by  the  plantation. 


570  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


However  vague  and  uncertain  had  been  the  ideas  of  the  first  settlers  here  as 
to  the  jurisdiction  over  this  valley,  there  was  no  failure  of  their  purpose  to  make 
a  plantation  here.  So  they  drew  up  and  signed  a  formal  agreement,  declaring 
the  purpose  of  the  signers  "  by  God's  providence  to  make  a  plantation  at  and 
over  against  '  Agaam  '  on  Connecticut/'  and  their  agreement  to  "  certain  articles 
and  orders  to  be  observed  and  kept  l)y  themselves  and  their  successors  "  in  the 
management  of  their  plantation.  This  paper  was  signed  by  eight  persons,  repre- 
senting themselves  to  be  "  all  the  first  adventurers  and  undertakers  for  the  Plan- 
tation." The  names  signed  are  William  Pynchon,  :Matthew  Mitchell,  Henry 
Smith,  Jehu  Burr.  AVilliam  Blake,  Edmund  Wood,  Thomas  UfEord,  and  John 
Cable.  The  paper  bears  date  May  U,  1G3G  (old  style),  which  corresponds  to 
May  25  of  the  present  calendar. 

Besides  these  eight  signers,  there  were  four  others  apparently  concerned  in  the 
Plantation  and  named  in  tlie  paper;  to  wit,  Thomas  Woodford,  John  Reader, 
Samuel  Butterfleld,  and  James  AVood.  Of  the  eight  names  signed  to  the  paper,' 
Mitchell,  Blake,  Wood,  and  Ufford  remained  here  but  a  short  time.  Blake 
returned  to  Dorchester,  from  which  town  he  had  come:  :^[itchell  went  to 
Connecticut,  and  lived  in  diiferent  towns  there  until  his  death;  Burr  and 
Cable  were  here  as  late  as  1640,  when  their  names  disappear  from  our 
records.  Only  Pynchon  and  Smith  of  the  original  signers  remained  here  over 
five  years. 

Soon  after  coming  to  Springfield  Mr.  Pynchon  made  a  bargain  witli  the  In- 
dians for  the  purchase  of  the  land  required  for  the  intended  settlement.  This 
bargain  was  put  in  form  July  15,  1(530,  by  a  deed  from  Connnucke  and  Matan- 
chan,  two  "  ancient"  Indians  of  Agawam,  for  themselves  and  as  representatives 
of  tlie  other  Indian  proprietors,  conveying  to  William  Pynchon,  Henry  Smith, 
and  Jehu  Burr,  their  heirs  and  associates  forever,  a  large  part  of  the  territory 
now  occupied  by  this  city,  Avith  lands  in  its  vicmity.  Tliis  deed  was  fully  ex- 
plained to  tlie  Indians  by  Ahaughton,  an  Indian  interpreter  from  the  Bay,  and 
was  perfectly  understood  by  them.  For  it  they  received  an  adequate  considera- 
tion, according  to  the  values  of  that  day,  and  were  never  dissatisfied  Avith  the 
bargain.  Eor  the  lands  sold  by  the  Indians  in  this  purchase  they  received 
"18  fathoms  of  wampun,  18  coates,  18  hatchets,  18  hoAves,  and  18  knives," 
and  reserved  to  themselves  the  ground  then  planted,  and  liberty  to  take  fish 
and  deer,  ground  nuts,  Avalnuts,  acorns,  and  a  kind  of  wild  peas.  Wrutherna, 
one  of  the  Indians,  received  from  Mr.  Pynchon  two  coats  as  an  extra  con- 
sideration. 

There  were  fifteen  articles  or  specifications  in  the  original  agreement  signed 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  571 

by  the  planters  who  first   came  here.     The  first  three  of  tliese  articles   have  a 
special  significance.     They  read  as  follows  :  — 

''Firstly.  Wee  intend  by  God's  grace,  as  soon  as  we  can,  with  all  conven- 
ient speede  to  procure  some  Godly  and  faithful  minister,  with  whome  we  purpose 
to  joyne  in  church  covenant  to  Avalk  in  all  the  ways  of  Christ. 

"  Secondly.  Wee  intend  tliat  our  towne  shall  be  composed  of  fourty  familys. 
or.  if  we  think  after  to  alter  our  purpose,  yet  not  to  exceed  the  number  of  fifty 
familys  rich  and  poore. 

"  Thirdly.  That  every  inhabitant  shall  have  a  convenient  proportion  for  a 
house  lott,  as  Ave  shall  see  meet  for  every  ones  quality  and  estate.'' 

By  the  limitation  of  the  town  to  forty  families  it  is  evident  that  the  original 
planters  intended  to  make  the  town  a  compact  settlement,  and  not  one  of  scat- 
tered farms,  separated  from  each  other  by  long  distances.  This  Avas  essential 
for  their  mutual  safety,  living  as  they  did  in  the  midst  of  an  Indian  neighbor- 
hood, and  so  remote  from  the  protection  and  assistance  of  the  older  settlements 
about  Massachusetts  Bay.  Many  of  the  early  regulations,  adopted  in  the  in- 
fancy of  the  toAvn,  Avere  designed  to  secure,  as  one  of  their  objects,  compactness 
of  settlement.  The  General  Court  early  passed  a  laAv  that  all  dAvelling-houses 
should  be  built  Avithin  half  a  mile  of  the  meeting-house.  The  first  settlers  of 
our  toAvn,in  furtherance  of  the  same  object,  in  allotting  house  "  lotts,"'  made  the 
lots,  except  in  a  fcAV  special  cases,  so  narroAv  as  to  condense  the  population 
Avithin  Avhat  they  considered  safe  limits.  The  street  upon  Avhich  the  houses  Avere 
built  f  olloAved  the  general  course  of  the  river  in  a  line  substantially  parallel  to 
it.  The  house  lots  Avere  all  on  the  Avest  side  of  the  street,  and,  Avith  some  excep- 
tions, Avere  generally  about  eight  or  ten  rods  wide.  Three  of  them  Avere  four- 
teen rods,  tAvo  Avere  tAventy  rods,  and  that  of  Mr.  Pynchon  Avas  thirty  rods  Avide. 
All  of  the  home  lots  extended  from  the  street  to  the  river.  Each  of  them  had  an 
allotment  on  the  east  side  of  the  street,  of  the  same  Avidth  as  the  house  lot.  The 
land  east  of  the  street,  and  adjoining  it,  Avas  called  in  the  allotments  "  hasseky  " 
marsh.  Still  further  east  there  Avas  usually  an  allotment  of  the  same  Avidth,  of 
upland,  covered  more  or  less  Avith  Avood. 

Very  early  the  "hasseky"  meadoAv  Avas  crossed  by  a  road  or  path  about  two 
rods  Avide,  running  east,  and  Avideuing  after  passing  the  meadow.  This  road 
crossing  the  marsh  Avas  made  passable  by  corduroy  logs  laid  across  the  path. 
At  its  easterly  end  it  was  probably  connected  Avith  the  path  leading  to  the  Bay, 
long  known  as  the  Old  Bay  road,  of  Avhich  the  Avestern  end  is  the  present  Bay 
street. 


572  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

Some  of  the  early  settlers  here  came  from  the  Connecticut  towns  down  the 
river.  Windsor,  Hartford,  and  AYethersfield  had  each  of  them  some  representa- 
tives among  the  early  inhabitants  of  Springfield.  Such  settlers  could  aA^ail  them- 
selves of  the  river  as  a  way  of  travel.  Boats,  or,  as  they  were  usually  called, 
canoes,  were  in  frequent  use  for  the  carriage  of  goods  and  the  transportation  of 
persons.  Trees  that  were  suitable  for  use  in  constructing  boats  were  called 
'•  canoe  trees,"  and  the  cutting  of  such  trees  Avas  restricted  by  vote  of  the  Plan- 
tation. 

For  the  accommodation  of  those  persons  who  wished  to  pass  to  or  from  the 
town  by  the  river,  three  wharves  or  landing-places  Avere  established,  one  at  the 
foot  of  what  is  now  knoAvn  as  Cypress  street,  called  the  upper  or  "higher" 
wharf,  another  at  the  foot  of  Elm  street,  called  the  middle  wharf  or  landing,  and 
the  third  at  the  foot  of  York  street,  known  as  the  loAver  landing.  To  each  of 
these  a  street  or  lane  led  from  the  main  street.  The  street  leading  to  the  middle 
landing  was  the  same  that  conducted  to  the  training-place,  part  of  which  was 
afterward  used  as  a  burial-place.  This  street,  the  Elm  street  of  our  day,  was  at 
first  one  rod  wide,  but  soon  was  widened  to  two  rods. 

Probably  the  greater  number  of  the  settlers  who  came  early  to  Springfield 
made  the  journey  of  one  hundred  miles  from  the  bay  to  the  Connecticut  river  by 
land.  Some  of  them  brought  their  families  and  goods  with  them.  The  journey 
in  1636  was  a  serious  and  liazardous  undertaking  for  an  emigrating  family. 
There  were  no  paths  through  the  forest,  except  occasionally  an  Indian  trail,  no 
bridges  over  the  streams,  often  swollen  and  rapid.  Rough  and  rocky  hills  must 
be  climbed,  and  tangled  underbrush  must  be  threaded.  Savage  beasts  might  be 
lurking  in  the  thicket,  and  encountered  at  any  moment.  Some  of  these  pilgrims, 
seeking  a  new  home  on  the  banks  of  the  Connecticut,  were  the  wives  and  young 
children  of  the  emigrants,  and  this  was  their  first  experience  of  a  journey  through 
the  wilderness.  There  were  dangers  to  be  met  by  day  and  by  night.  The  forest 
was  full  of  sights  and  sounds  to  which  they  were  unused.  The  Indian  Avas  there, 
and  the  travellers  Avere  not  so  familiar  with  the  savages  as  to  feel  perfectly  easy 
in  their  neighborhood.  After  traversing  the  forests  for  many  days  Avithout 
coming  to  one  friendly  house,  Avhere  the  Avomen  and  children  could  have  needed 
shelter  and  rest,  and  Avithout  seeing  one  Avhite  face  they  had  ever  seen  before, 
hoAv  Avistfully  must  they  have  sought  to  catch  the  first  glimpse  of  the  beautiful 
river  on  the  banks  of  which  they  hoped  to  find  their  home. 

ConceiA^e  for  a  moment  a  party  of  these  Avayfarers,  fatigued  Avith  their 
long  and  wearisome  journey,  as  they  straggle  out  from  the  Avoods,  com- 
ir.g,  toAvard  the  close  of  an  autumnal  afternoon,  to  one  of  the  knolls  that 
mark  the  borders   of  our  valley,  and    looking  doAvn  from  it  for  the  first  time 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  573 


in  their  lives  upon  that  stream,  which    one    of    the   poets    of    the    valley    thus 
apostrophizes  :  — 

Fair,  noble,  glorioua  river,  in  thy  wave 

The  sunniest  slopes  and  sweetest  pastures  lave ; 

The  mountain  torrent  with  its  wintry  roar 

Springs  from  its  home  and  leaps  upon  thy  shore  — 

The  promontories  love  thee,  and  for  this 

Turn  their  rough  cheeks  and  stay  thee  for  thy  kiss. 

The  travellers  now  discover  some  indications  of  civilized  life.  Here  and  there 
the  smoke  from  the  chimney  of  a  rude  cabin  arrests  their  attention,  and  they 
begin  to  realize  that  they  are  near  to  old  neighbors  and  friends.  They  folloM-  the 
course  of  a  small  brook,  since  called  Garden  brook,  and  descend  the  slope 
into  the  valley.  They  seek  to  find  first  the  one  man  whom  they  had  known  in 
England,  and  with  Avhom  they  had  crossed  the  ocean.  They  find  Mr.  Pynchon's 
house.  There  was  nothing  striking  or  attractive  about  it  to  indicate  that  it  was 
the  residence  of  the  leader  in  this  enterprise  of  founding  a  town  in  the  wilder- 
ness. It  was  a  one-story-and-a-half  wooden  structure,  unpainted,  Avith  a  thatched 
roof,  and  a  chimney  of  wood  covered  with  mortar.  Mr.  Pynchon  gives  the  new- 
comers a  cordial  welcome  to  the  hospitahties  of  his  house,  and  they  are  soon 
numbered  among  the  settlers  of  the  plantation.  By  such  accessions  to  its  inhabi- 
tants the  population  of  the  place  is  gradually  increased,  and  from  being  the  plan- 
tation of  Agawam,  it  aspires  to  become  a  town,  and  in  April,  1640,  voted  to 
change  its  name  to  Springfield.  By  this  name  it  was  recognized  by  the  General 
Court  in  June,  1641,  and  ever  afterward  known. 

Previous  to  this  action  of  the  Legislature,  the  inhabitants,  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  by  God's  providence  they  were  now  fallen  into  the  line  of  the  Massachusetts 
jurisdiction,  and  that  it  would  be  inconvenient  to  repair  to  the  Bay  in  cases  of 
justice,  such  as  might  often  fall  out,  requiring  the  action  of  a  magistrate,  by 
general  consent  and  vote,  until  further  direction  should  come  from  the  General 
Court,  ordained  Mr.  Pynchon  to  act  as  magistrate  in  the  Plantation  of  Agawam, 
with  the  aid  of  a  jury  of  six  persons. 

The  General  Court,  in  1641,  gave  Pynchon  a  new  commission  to  exercise 
similar  authority  for  one  year.  In  1643  this  commission  was  renewed,  and  ex- 
tended until  the  court  should  further  order. 

Mr.  Pynchon  acted  under  the  authority  thus  conferred  upon  him  until  he 
incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  General  Court,  by  a  theological  book  written  by 
him  and  published  in  England.  For  this  he  was  suspended  from  office,  and 
Henry  Smith,  his  son-in-law,  appointed  in  his  place.  Pynchon  was  summoned  to 
appear  before  the  court  and  answer  for  his  offence.     He  was  a  religious  man  of 


574  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


the  Puritan  order,  and  was  a  zealous  advocate  of  the  faith  he  had  chosen.  In 
his  opinion,  there  were  some  errors  prevalent  in  New  England,  particularly  on 
the  subject  of  the  Atonement.  So,  being  a  keen  thinker  and  a  ready  writer,  he 
undertook  to  correct  some  of  the  prevaihng  errors  and  vindicate  the  truth,  as  he 
understood  it,  by  writing  a  book,  wliich  he  entitled  '-The  Meritorious  Price  of 
Our  Redemption,  Justification,  etc..  Clearing  it  from  Some  Common  Errors, 
etc."  This  book  was  pubhshed  in  England  under  Mr.  Pynchon's  own  name,  and 
brought  to  America,  where  it  soon  attracted  the  notice  of  the  General  Court,  and 
produced  great  excitement.  It  was  pronounced  false,  erroneous,  and  heretical, 
and  condemned  to  be  burned  by  the  common  executioner  in  the  market-place  at 
Boston.  This  sentence  was  executed  at  once,  and  Pynchon  was  summoned  to 
appear  before  the  next  General  Court,  in  May,  1G51,  to  answer  for  liis  offence, 
and  not  to  depart  without  leave  from  the  court.  Some  of  the  members  of  the 
court  did  not  concur  in  the  censure  of  Mr.  Pynchon's  book,  and  desired  that 
their  reasons  for  their  dissent  might  be  recorded  or  kept  on  file.  The  court 
would  allow  neither  course.  But  it  passed  an  order  entreating  Mr.  Norton,  an 
eminent  divine  of  Ipswich,  to  ansAver  the  book.  This  vote  was  passed  on  the  16th 
of  October,  1650,  and  then  the  matter  rested  until  May,  1651.  At  that  time  the 
court  passed  a  vote  of  thanks  to  Norton  for  his  answer  to  Pynchon's  book,  and 
ordered  the  treasurer  to  pay  him  £20  out  of  the  next  tax  leaded,  and  that  Norton's 
answer  be  printed.  At  the  same  session  Mr.  Pynchon  appeared  before  the 
court  and  avowed  himself  the  author  of  his  book,  and  quahfied  some  of  the  ex- 
pressions used  by  him,  and  explained  more  fully  his  meaning.  Thereupon  the 
court  suspended  all  further  action  in  the  case  until  the  14th  of  October  following, 
when  he  was  required  again  to  appear.  In  October  the  court  extended  the  time 
for  his  appearance  to  May,  1652.  At  the  session  of  the  court  in  May,  1652,  Mr. 
Pynclion  did  not  appear.  Indignant  at  the  treatment  he  had  received  from  the 
authorities  at  Boston,  and  apprehensive  of  further  ill-usage,  he  left  New  England 
for  Old  England.  He  knew  that  if  he  should  be  convicted  of  heresy  he  could 
expect  no  lenity  from  the  colonial  authorities.  John  Endicott,  one  of  the  most 
rigid  Puritans  of  the  age,  was  then  governor.  The  deputy  governor  was  Thomas 
Dudley,  a  man  who  had  persistently  quarrelled  with  Winthrop,  and  whose  in- 
flexible temper  was  satirized  by  one  of  the  M-its  of  the  time  in  this  ironical 
epitaph :  — 

Here  lies  Thomas  Dudley,  that  trusty  old  stud, 
A  bargain's  a  bargain  and  must  be  made  good. 

Mr.  Pynchon  had  come  to  New  England  to  avoid  persecution.     He  now  left  it 
to  escape  from  intolerance.     When  out  of  the  reach  of  the  vindictive  malice  of 


SPBINGFIELT),     I6S6-1SS6.  575 


Ids  enemies,  he  wrote  and  published  a  reply  to  Mr.  Norton's  book,  in  which 
he  controverted  Norton's  arguments,  and  reaffirmed  his  own  views. 

From  the  nature  of  the  pviblic  duties  devolved  upon  him  by  the  General 
Court,  it  is  apj)arent  that  Pynchon  was  regarded  as  an  astute  man  of  affairs, 
capable  of  conducting  any  kind  of  business.  He  could  make  a  contract  with 
the  Indians  for  a  large  tract  of  territory.  He  could  manage  successfully  the 
financial  concerns  of  the  colony,  and  so  was  made  its  treasurer.  He  could  dis- 
cuss and  elucidate  to  the  satisfaction  of  a  man  as  captious  Gov.  Thomas  Dudley, 
a  question  of  policy  in  the  treatment  of  the  Indian,  so  as  to  avoid  difficult  and 
dangerous  complications.  All  this  Mr.  Pynchon  did.  He  could  and  did  admin- 
ister AN  isely  the  judicial  duties  that  were  devolved  upon  him  as  the  only  magis- 
trate in  western  ^Massachusetts.  He  was  a  man  of  great  enterprise,  and  devoted 
liis  energies  to  building  up  this  town  which  he  had  founded.  He  intended  that 
it  should  become  a  commercial  centre  in  this  valley,  from  which  should  radiate 
an  influence  for  the  prosperity  of  all  this  region.  To  this  end  he  gathered  about 
liim  here  men  of  various  trades  and  occupations,  with  skill  and  resolution 
adapted  to  give  success  to  the  town.  He  established  a  trade  here  in  furs  and 
farm  products  that  reached  not  only  to  the  towns  below  on  the  river,  but  to 
Boston  and  the  settlements  on  the  bay.  Mr.  Pynchon  never  returned  to  America, 
but  died  at  Wraisbury,  in  England,  on  the  29th  of  October,  1662,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-two. 

"With  Pynchon  went  his  son-in-laAv,  Henry  Smith,  who  had  been  appointed  by 
the  General  Court  as  his  successor  in  office.  He  was  a  man  of  capacity,  and 
Avell  qualified  to  fill  tlie  place  vacated  by  Pynchon.  But  he  preferred  following 
the  fortunes  of  his  father  Pynchon  to  remaining  here. 

With  Mr.  Pynchon  also  went  another  early  settler.  Rev.  George  Moxon,  Avho 
had  come  to  Springfield  in  1637,  as  its  first  minister.  He  brought  with  him  a 
wife  and  several  children,  and  had  some  cluldren  born  here.  He  Avas  educated 
in  England,  and  received  ordination  to  the  ministry  there.  So  that,  upon  his 
arrival  in  New  England,  in  1637,  he  was  ready  to  fulfil  the  purpose  of  the  first 
settlers  as  tlie  godly  and  faithful  minister,  with  whom  they  desired  to  join  in 
cnurch  covenant.  ]\[r.  Moxon  continued  the  minister  of  the  town,  and  was 
useful  in  his  vocation  until  1651.  About  that  time  suspicions  of  witchcraft 
began  to  be  entertained  here.  A  nervous  and  probably  insane  woman  by  the 
name  of  Mary  Parsons,  wife  of  Hugh  Parsons,  was  accused  by  Martha  and 
Rebecca  Moxon,  the  daughters  of  the  minister,  of  practising  the  arts  of 
witchcraft.  To  her  agency  were  ascribed  some  distempers  from  which  they 
suffered.  She  had  killed  her  oAvn  child,  and  so  Avas  arrested  and  taken  to 
Boston,  and  tried  there  both  for  murder  and  witchcraft.     Both  of  these  offences 


576  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

were  capital.  She  was  acquitted  of  the  charge  of  witchcraft,  but  convicted  of 
the  murder  by  her  own  confession,  and  sentenced  to  death. 

The  connection  of  his  family  with  this  case  made  it  disagreeable  to  Mr.  ]\Ioxon 
to  remain  here,  and  concurring  with  the  troubles  of  his  friend,  Mr.  Pynchon, 
induced  him  to  accompany  Pynchon  to  England,  from  which  he  never  returned 
to  America. 

The  loss  of  these  three  so  prominent  men  Avas  a  serious  blow  to  the  young 
town  of  Springfield.  In  his  century  sermon,  delivered  here  October  16,  1775, 
]\[r.  Breck,  speaking  of  it,  says  :  -'It  was  a  day  of  darkness  Avith  this  toAvn,"  that 
he  "  remembered  to  have  formerly  heard  some  of  the  aged  people,  who  had  it 
from  their  forefathers,  say  that  it  went  near  to  break  up  the  settlement." 

The  departure  of  William  Pynchon  brouglit  at  once  into  jirominence  his  son, 
John  Pynchon,  then  about  twenty-six  years  of  age,  who  had  come  to  Springfield 
with  liis  father  at  its  first  settlement,  and  was  familiar  Avith  its  history  and  all  its 
interests.  He  had  received  a  training  under  his  father  that  prepared  him  at  once 
to  enter  upon  the  management  of  all  affairs,  both  private  and  publrc,  that  had 
previously  been  conducted  by  his  father.  John  Pynchon  l)ecame  immediately  the 
leading  man  of  Springfield  in  every  respect. 

His  private  business  was  very  extensive.  He  Avas  the  merchant  avIio  carried 
on  a  large  trade,  buying  of  his  toAvnsmen  Avhatever  products  of  their  farms  they 
had  for  sale.  He  had  a  storehouse  at  Warehouse  Point,  from  Avhich  his  goods, 
received  from  Hartford,  Avere  transported  to  Sprmgfield  and  sold  to  his  neighbors 
here.  He  Avas  a  large  dealer  in  furs,  particularly  of  the  beaver,  Avhich  abounded 
in  the  Connecticut  and  AVoronoco  (or  Westfield)  rivers.  The  collection  of  these 
furs  gave  employment  to  many  men,  as  Avell  Indians  as  Avliite  men.  He  Avas  part 
OAvner  of  a  vessel  that  transported  beaver  skins  and  other  goods  from  Hartford 
to  Boston  for  transshipment  to  England.  He  Avas  the  proprietor,  with  his  brother- 
in-law,  Holyoke,  of  a  corn-mill  and  a  saAv-mill,  at  Avhich  the  grain  of  the  inhabi- 
tants Avas  ground,  and  their  lumber  saAved.  He  had  in  his  employ  boats  on  the 
riA'er,  and  teams  on  the  land.  All  this  Avork  required  the  services  of  his  felloAv- 
townsmen  of  different  trades  and  occupations,  and  brought  to  Springfield  many 
persons  who  became  useful  citizens.  Many  of  them  had  experience  and  skill 
in  some  particular  kind  of  business.  But  Avhatever  that  may  haA^e  been,  they 
could  readily  turn  their  hands  to  almost  any  kind  of  work.  In  general,  they 
appear  to  have  been  industrious  and  honest  men,  avIio  feared  God  and  Avere  just 
to  their  neighbors. 

The  public  stations  filled  by  John  Pynchon,  and  the  public  duties  performed 
by  him,  exceeded  in  number  and  equalled  in  importance  those  of  his  father. 
When  the  captaincy  of  the  military  company  here  was  vacated  by  the  departure 


S  PR  rXG  FIELD,    1636-1886.  577 

of  Henry  Smith,  John  Pynchon  was  appointed  captain  in  Smith's  place.  From 
this  lie  rose  to  be  the  commander  of  the  regiment  of  the  county,  which  then  com- 
prised all  the  State  west  of  Middlesex  county.  In  this  capacity  he  acted  during 
the  King  Philip  Avar.  In  the  records  of  that  time  he  is  commonly  styled  the 
•■  Worshipful  "  Major  Pynchon. 

In  1G59  he  was  chosen  a  deputy  from  Springfield  to  the  General  Court,  and 
continued  in  that  capacity  to  represent  the  town  until  1667,  when  he  was  elected 
by  the  court  to  the  upper  branch  of  the  Legislature  as  an  assistant.  He  held 
that  office  until  1686. 

He  was  often  appointed  to  transact  important  business  beyond  the  hmits  of  this 
State.  In  1664  he  was  one  of  the  commissioners  who  represented  the  English 
government  in  receiving  from  tlie  Dutch  the  surrender  of  Xew  Amsterdam, 
which  then  took  its  present  name  of  New  York. 

In  1680  he  was  sent  as  a  commissioner  by  the  General  Court  of  ^Nlassachu setts 
to  Albany  to  arrange,  with  the  aid  of  the  governor  of  New  York,  a  treaty  with 
the  ^lacquas  or  ^Mohawk  Indians,  to  secure  the  people  of  Massachusetts  from  the 
incxirsions  of  the  Indians  of  that  powerful  tribe. 

In  this  negotiation  he  Avas  successful.  The  Indians  gave  him  a  written  ansAver 
to  his  jjroposition.  This  ansAver,  originally  drawn  in  the  Dutch  language,  Avas 
translated  into  English  by  an  interpreter,  and  recorded  in  the  colony  records.  It 
is  a  curious  and  interesting  document.  Tlie  Indians  addressed  the  major  as 
'■  Brother  Pynchon,"  and  expressed  their  gladness  at  seeing  him  again  at  Albany, 
as  they  had  seen  him  four  years  before,  and  their  resolution  to  keep  iuAnolate  the 
treaty  Avhich  they  had  just  made  Avith  him. 

The  General  Court  directed  the  entire  paper  to  be  recorded,  and  ordered  "  that 
Maj.  John  Pynchon,  for  his  great  paines  in  his  hard  journey  last  Avinter  to  the 
Macquas  and  concluding  a  peace  Avith  them,  be  paid  £12."  Often  associated  Avitli 
Major  Pynchon  Avere  his  brother-in-laAv,  Elizur  Holyoke,  and  Deacon  Samuel 
Chapiii.  Tlie  three  were  appointed  commissioners  in  1652,  after  William  Pynchon 
left,  to  liold  courts  and  administer  justice  in  Sprnigfield.  They  had  jurisdiction 
in  all  actions  of  small  amount,  and  in  the  trial  of  criminal  cases  that  "  reached 
not  to  life,  limbs,  or  banishment,"  saving  to  tlie  parties  the  right  of  appeal  to  the 
Court  of  Assistants  at  Boston. 

Holyoke  Avas  a  native  of  Tamworth,  in  England,  and  came  to  this  country  Avitli 
his  father,  EdAvard  Holyoke,  about  16:57  or  1688,  and  lived  for  a  time  at  Rumney 
]Marsh,  iioav  Chelsea.  He  Avas  probably  draAvn  to  Springfield  by  an  attachment 
formed  for  Mary  Pynchon,  the  daughter  of  WilUani  and  sister  of  John,  to  Avhom 
he  Avas  married  in  November,  1640.  She  is  described  as  a  very  lovely  woman. 
'•  a  very  glory  of  Avomanhood." 


578  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

A  home  lot  twenty  rods  wide  was  assigned  to  Mr.  Holyoke  next  south  from 
that  of  his  father-in-law,  William  Pynchon.  It  occupied  the  wliole  space  from 
the  nortlierly  line  of  Worthington  street  to  the  southerly  line  of  Bridge  street. 
He  afterward  acquired,  hy  purchase  or  grant  from  the  town,  large  additional 
tracts  of  land  on  both  sides  of  the  river. 

In  1062  the  towns  of  Springfield,  Northampton,  and  Hadley  were  made  a 
county  by  the  name  of  Hampshire.  Springfield  was  made  tlie  shire  town,  but 
courts  Avere  to  be  held  alternately  at  Springfield  and  Northampton. 

In  lOCo  Jolm  Pynchon  was  made  presiding  judge  of  tlie  court,  with  four  asso- 
ciates. Holyoke  Avas  the  associate  from  Springfield,  and  Avas  also  the  recorder 
of  tlie  court. 

Deacon  Samuel  Chapin  came  to  Springfield,  in  1642,  from  Roxbury,  Avhere  he 
had  OAvued  a  lumse  and  lot.  On  June  2,  1641,  lie  took  the  freeman's  oath  at 
Boston,  and  so  became  legally  a  citizen  of  Massachusetts.  It  appears  by  the 
church  records  of  Ivoxbury  that  he  and  his  wife,  Cicely  Chapin,  Avere  both  mem- 
bers of  Ilev.  John  Eliot's  church  in  that  toAvn.  His  son,  Japhet,  avtis  baptized 
there  October  15,   1(542. 

In  December,  1643,  he  appears  by  the  records  to  have  been  at  Springfield  as 
one  of  a  jury  of  Avhich  Holyoke  Avas  foreman,  and  Samuel  Wright,  afterAvard  a 
deacon  of  the  church,  Avas  a  member.  Wriglit  and  Chapin  Avere  the  first  deacons 
of  the  church  here.  Deacon  Wright  removed  to  Northampton,  and  died  there. 
His  descendants  abound  in  tliat  place  and  A'icinity.  Deacon  Chapin  continued  to 
reside  at  Springfield,  Avhere  he  had  a  large  family  of  sons  and  daughters.  The 
northern  part  of  the  town  Avas  at  one  time  almost  peopled  by  his  descendants. 

On  the  17th  of  September,  1862,  a  meeting  of  his  descendants  Avas  held  here 
in  the  old  First  Church,  Avliich  was  largely  attended  from  all  parts  of  the  country. 
Stephen  C.  Bemis,  one  of  the  descendants,  and  then  mayor  of  this  city,  pre- 
sided. Judge  Henry  Chaiiin,  of  Worcester,  delivered  an  address,  and  the  late 
Dr.  Holland,  Avhose  Avife  Avas  a  Chapin,  read  a  jioem.  Other  interesting  addresses 
were  delivered  by  other  distinguished  members  of  the  family.  In  this  Avay  the 
memory  of  the  old  deacon  Avas  kept  alive.  And  noAv,  as  if  all  this  Avere  not 
enough  to  perpetuate  his  memory,  it  is  proposed  to  erect  a  bronze  statue  on 
Court  square,  in  front  of  tlie  cliurch  in  Avliich  he  once  Avorshipped  and  officiated  as 
deacon.  An  artist  of  renoAvned  skill  has  been  engaged  to  prepare  this  statue, 
and  hiis  already  begun  tlie  Avork.  AA''hen  finished  and  erected,  it  Avill,  undoubt- 
edly, be  a  fit  memorial  in  a  fit  place  of  the  Avorthy  man  it  is  designed  to 
represent. 

While  Ave  hold  in  especial  honor  the  fcAv  men  avIio  Avere  leaders  in  the  early 
settlement  of  this  tOAvn,  and  Avho  shared  Avith  AVilliam  Pynchon,  during  the  six- 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  579 


teen  years  of  his  stay  here,  the  labor  and  responsibility  of  laying  the  founda- 
tions, we  must  not  forget  or  overlook  the  names  of  others,  who,  Avithout  aspiring 
to  any  post  of  leadership,  Avere  content,  in  the  simple  capacity  of  pioneer  settlers, 
to  aid  in  building  up  tliis  town  in  the  wilderness,  although  it  required  them  to 
expose  themselves  and  their  families  to  tlie  privations  and  dangers  of  a  frontier 
life.  Of  this  class  of  early  settlers,  in  addition  to  those  already  named,  may  be 
mentioned  John  Searle,  Thomas  Horton,  Thomas  Mirrick,  John  Leonard,  Robert 
Ashley,  William  Warriner,  Henry  Burt,  Rowland  Stebbins,  Richard  Sikes, 
Thomas  Cooper,  James  Bridgman,  Alexander  Edwards,  Francis  Ball,  John 
Harmon,  Miles  Morgan,  Benjamin  Cooley,  John  Matthews,  George  Colton, 
Joseph  Parsons,  John  Clarke,  Widow  Margaret  Bliss  and  her  four  sons, 
Nathaniel,  Lawrence,  Samuel,  and  John,  also  Reice  Bedortha,  John  Lom- 
bard, George  Langton,  Anthony  Dorchester,  John  Lamb,  John  Duml)leton, 
Rowland  Tliomas,  J(^natlian  Taylor,  Thomas  Miller,  Benjamin  Munn,  John 
Dibble.  All  these  have  descendants  here,  and  their  names  have  long  been 
familiar  to  us. 

We  are  now  at  the  commencement  of  a  new  vya  in  the  history  of  this  town. 
One  quarter  of  a  thousand  years  has  passed  since  its  corjwrate  existence  began 
in  the  mutual  agreement  of  the  first  settlers.  Although  weak  in  its  infancy,  it 
gradually  outgrew  the  discouragements  of  its  origin.  The  steady  courage  of  the 
founders  never  failed  amid  all  the  trials  of  its  early  years.  When  William 
Pynclion,  the  original  leader  of  the  colonists,  w;is  compelled  to  abandon  the 
town  and  return  to  England,  it  seemed  for  the  time  that  the  enterprise  was  almost 
hopeless,  and  a  deep  gloom  spread  over  the  minds  of  the  people. 

But  a  new  leader  came  forward  in  the  person  of  his  son,  John  Pynchoii,  who 
immediately  showed  his  capacity  to  take  the  place  which  his  father  had  vacated, 
and  carry  on  the  work  that  his  father  had  l>eguu.  And  so  a  new  impulse,  for- 
ward and  upward,  was  given  to  tlie  enterprise,  and  the  town  continued  steadily  to 
grow  and  prosper  until  that  disastrous  day  in  October,  1675,  wlien  the  Indians, 
stimulated  by  Philij),  the  chief  of  the  Wampanoags,  a  tribe  having  its  principal 
seat  in  Bristol  county  and  the  adjacent  parts  of  Rhode  Island,  suddenly  laid 
aside  the  pipe  of  peace,  and  with  tomahawk,  gun,  and  torch  began  tlie  Avork  of 
destruction  and  slaughter. 

Philip  endeavored  to  combine  all  tlie  lii(Uaiis  of  New  England  in  a  grand  con- 
federacy against  the  English  colonists,  in  the  hope  to  expel  or  exterminate  the 
colonists.  Failing  at  first  to  secure  the  cooperation  of  the  Narragansett 
Indians,  and  being  hard  pressed  by  the  English  and  their  allies,  the  Mohegan 
Indians,  Philip  was  forced  from  his  stronghold  in  Bristol  county  and  its  vicinity 
to  the   interior  of  Massachusetts  among  the   Nipmuck  Indians.     These  joined 


580  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 

him  in  a  raid  upon  some  of  tlie  towns  of  Worcester  county  and  the  u])per  towns 
on  the  Connecticut  river. 

They  hurned  Brookfield.  Next  they  appeared  at  Deerfield  and  Northfield. 
A  few  days  later  occurred  the  massacre  at  Bloody  Brook,  where  Captain  Lathrop, 
with  eighty-eiglit  young  men,  the  flower  of  Essex  county,  were  attacked  by  a 
superior  force  of  Indians,  and  seventy  of  their  number  slain.  These  assaults 
upon  the  upper  towns  on  the  river  Avere  attended  with  the  barbarities  usual  in 
Indian  warfare,  and  excited  general  attention  and  sympathy.  Massachusetts  and 
Connecticut  sent  tlieir  forces  to  protect  the  endangered  towns.  Maj.  John  Pyn- 
chon  was  commander-in-chief  of  the  Massachusetts  forces.  Major  Treat  com- 
manded those  of  Connecticut.  Among  the  subordinate  Massachusetts  officers  were 
Captain  Appleton  and  Captain  Mosely. 

The  advice  of  Major  Pynchon  to  the  colonial  authorities  had  been  that  garri- 
sons should  be  maintained  in  the  frontier  towns  for  their  protection.  But  this 
advice  had  been  overruled,  and  orders  had  been  issued  that  whenever  an  enemy 
appeared,  soldiers  should  be  despatched  in  pursuit  of  them.  In  this  kind  of 
strategy  the  Indians  were  much  superior  to  the  English.  They  were  familiar 
with  all  the  paths  l^y  Avhich  tlie  forests  could  be  traversed.  Their  movements 
were  stealthy  and  rapid.  They  fell  upon  the  amazed  and  beA^'ildered  settlers 
when  least  expected,  executed  their  savage  and  bloody  Avork  Avith  fearful  rapidity, 
and  then  disappeared  as  suddenly  as  they  had  come,  leaving  little  or  no  trace  of 
their  course.  It  avms  to  little  purpose  tliat,  Avlien  tidings  reached  the  nearest 
military  force,  detachments  Avere  sent  in  pursuit.  Generally  they  reached  the 
scene  only  to  find  the  smoking  ruins  of  houses  that  the  savages  had  burned,  and 
the  mutilated  and  ghastly  remains  of  their  occupants. 

In  pursuance  of  tlie  orders  Avhich  he  received  from  the  commissioners,  who 
had  charge  of  the  conduct  of  the  war.  Major  Pynchon,  Avitli  all  the  force  under 
his  command  at  Springfield.  numl)ering  about  forty-five  men,  was  required  to 
march  northward  on  the  4th  of  C)ctober,  1G75,  O.S.  (October  15  of  the  present  cal- 
endar), by  tidings  that  a  considerable  body  of  Indians  had  been  seen  near  Had- 
ley.  To  repel  this  enemy  the  English  forces  Avere  ordered  to  concentrate  in  that 
town.  So  that  Avhen  tlie  night  of  October  4  closed  upon  tlie  inhabitants  of 
Springfield  they  Avere  entirely  Avithout  military  defence.  Their  own  militia  Avere 
Avith  Major  Pynchon  at  Hadley,  or  on  their  march  toward  that  place.  Major 
Treat  Avith  his  Connecticut  troops  was  on  the  west  side  of  the  river  at  a  consid- 
erable distance  from  this  toA\  n. 

Notwithstanding  their  defenceless  condition,  the  people  of  Springfield  did  not 
appear  to  feel,  at  first,  any  serious  apprehension  of  danger  threatening  the 
tOAvn.     Philip  and  his  Avarriors  Avere  supposed  to  be  engaged  in  distant  operations 


S  PR  nVG  FIELD,    16S6-18S6.  581 


farther  up  the  river,  where  he  had  the  sympathy  of  the  Indians.  So  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Springfield  retired  to  their  rest  on  the  evening  of  Monday,  the  4th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1<)75,  -with  a  feeling  of  security.  In  tlie  night  they  were  aroused  by  a  mes- 
senger from  Windsor,  Avith  information  that  an  Indian  there,  who  lived  in  the 
family  of  Mr.  Wolcott.  had  revealed  the  fact  that  a  plot  liad  been  formed  to  de- 
stroy Springfield,  and  that  a  large  body  of  Philip's  men  had  been  admitted  by  the 
Springfield  Indians  to  their  fort  on  Long  hill,  about  a  mile  south  from  the  town, 
for  this  purpose.  The  alarm  was  immediately  given  to  all  the  inhnbitanls,  and 
messengers  were  sent  to  Major  Pynchon  and  Major  Treat.  The  villagers  fled 
at  once  to  the  fortified  houses  Avith  such  of  their  more  valuable  effects  as  they 
could  readily  remove.  At  that  time  there  Avere  three  fortified  houses.  One  was 
the  brick  liouse  of  Major  Pynchon,  built  by  him  in  16G0,  standing  near  the  head 
of  Fort  street,  and  known  since,  for  many  years,  as  the  Old  Fort.  The  other 
fortified  houses  were  nearer  the  south  end  of  the  main  street. 

Every  preparation  Avas  made  for  defence  that  the  nature  of  the  case  Avould 
alloA\-.  But  there  Avas  a  painful  consciousness  of  immediate  danger.  The  peo- 
ple of  the  fortified  houses  aAvaited  Avith  sleepless  anxiety  the  coming  of  day. 
The  niglit  Avore  aAvay,  and  the  morning  of  Tuesda}',  October  5,  dawned  upon  the 
Avatchers.  It  brought  no  confirmation  of  the  fears.  The  risen  sun  disclosed  no 
savage  foes.  The  houses  stretched  along  the  street  showed  no  signs  of  having 
been  disturbed.  Some  of  the  inhabitants  began  to  doubt  the  truth  of  the  report 
from  Windsor.  Of  this  number  Avas  Thomas  Cooper,  who  had  been  Ueutenant 
of  the  Springfield  Company,  a  brave  and  experienced  officer.  He  determnied  to 
test  tlie  truth  of  the  report  from  Windsor  by  making  himself  a  personal  visit  to 
the  Indian  fort.  Taking  Avith  him  Thomas  Miller,  the  tAvo  set  out  on  horseback 
doAvn  Main  street  toAvard  Long  hill.  They  had  just  entered  the  Avoods  Avhich 
skirted  the  settlement  in  that  direction,  but  had  not  crossed  Mill  river,  Avhen  they 
Avere  fired  upon  by  some  unseen  foes.  Miller  Avas  instantly  killed.  Cooper  Avas 
mortally  Avounded  and  fell  from  his  horse,  but  succeeded  in  mounting  again  and 
rode  to  the  nearest  fort,  before  reaching  Avhich  he  received  a  second  shot  and 
soon  after  died. 

The  Indians  then  burst  upon  the  toAvn  Avith  the  greatest  fury.  Unable  to 
gratify  their  thirst  for  blood  by  the  slaughter  of  the  people,  who  had  taken  re- 
fuge in  the  forts,  they  applied  the  torch  to  the  buildings.  About  thirty-tAvo 
houses  and  tAventy-five  barns  Avith  their  contents  A\ere  destroyed.  Major 
Pynchon's  corn-mill  and  saAv-mill  Avere  consumed. 

While  this  Avork  of  destruction  Avas  going  on.  Major  Treat  arrived  Avitli  his 
forces  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  but  Avas  unable  to  cross  for  want  of  boats. 
Nothing  effectual  for  the  relief  of  the  town  could  be  accomplished  until  about 


582  SPRmOFIELD,    1636-1886. 


tlirot'  o'clock  in  the  atternoon.  when  Major  P\  nchou  with  liis  force  of  two  hun- 
dred soldiers,  after  an  exlia listing  marcli  from  Hadley.  arrived,  only  in  time  to 
see  tlie  ruin  which  tlie  savages  had  wrought  to  the  homes  and  property  of  the 
inliahitants. 

Besides  Cooper  and  Miller,  one  woman,  Pentecost  Matthews,  wife  of  John 
Matthews,  was  killed.  Edmund  Pringridays  was  severely  wounded,  and  died  a 
feAv  days  afterward.     About  forty  families  lost  all  their  means  of  subsistence. 

Of  the  fearful  incidents  of  that  disastrous  day  I  liavi'  spoken  on  another 
occasion,  and  need  not  dwell  further  uixui  tliem  now.  It  was  a  time  of  great  dis- 
tress, and  came  near  to  making  an  end  of  this  town. 

But  a  brighter  day  dawned.  Major  Pynchon  gave  up  the  idea,  whicli  he  at 
first  entertained,  of  abandoning  this  frontier  town  for  a  safer  liome  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  State.  He  inspired  his  fellow  townsmen  with  new  courage,  and  trust 
in  the  protecting  care  of  Heaven,  and  through  all  the  remainder  of  his  long  life 
continued  to  devote  his  time  and  talents  to  advancing  the  i)rosperity  of  Spring- 
field.    He  died  January   17,    1708,   universally  lamented. 

The  estimation  in  wliich  he  was  held  by  those  who  knew  him  is  well  expressed 
in  a  disct)urse  delivered  at  his  funeral  by  Rev.  Solomon  Stoddard,  pastor  of  the 
church  of  Northampton,  an  eminent  clergyman  of  that  time.  Taking  for  his 
text  the  first,  second,  and  third  verses  of  the  third  chapter  t)f  Isaiah,  he  said : 
•'  A  great  man  is  fallen  this  day  in  our  Israel,  and  it  becomes  us  to  mourn  and 
lament  under  this  dispensation.  God  has  removed  one  that  has  been  a  long  while 
serviceable,  that  has  been  employed  upon  public  service  for  above  fifty  years. 
He  has  been  serviceable  unto  the  country  in  general,  and  in  special  among  our- 
selves. He  hath  had  the  principal  management  of  our  military  affairs  and  our 
civil  affairs,  and  labored  much  in  the  settling  of  most  of  our  plantations  ;  has 
managed  things  with  industry,  prudence,  and  moderation.  He  has  been  careful 
in  time  of  war,  and,  as  there  has  been  occasion,  he  has  been  a  peacemaker 
among  us  and  helpful  in  composing  of  differences  ;  he  has  discountenanced  rude 
and  vicious  persons,  bearing  his  testimony  against  them.  It  is  to  be  feared  that 
we  shall  feel  the  sorrowful  effects  of  his  removal  a  long  while.  Sometimes  where 
parents  die.  children  do  not  at  present  so  much  feel  the  Avant  of  them  as  they  do 
afterward.  AVe  may  have  occasion  afterward  to  remember  Avith  sorrow  that  we 
had  such  an  one  among  us.  Though  Ave  have  other  useful  men.  yet  there  may 
arise  such  cases  Avherein  there  may  be  great  need  of  his  conduct  and  lielp.  He 
was  honorable,  and  had  great  influence  upon  men  of  authority  abroail  and  upon 
the  people  at  home,.and  had  more  experience  by  far  than  any  other  among  us." 

To  this  justly  deserved  eulogium,  uttered  by  one  of  his  contemporaries 
Avho    kneAv   him  Avell,   I    desire    to    add  only  a   word.       Springfield    owes    John 


SPRFNa  FIELD.     16S6-1S86. 


Pynchon  a  debt  of  gratitude  and  honor,  for  all  that  he  did  and  suffered  as  her 
preserver  and  benefactor,  tliat  will  never  be  discharged  until  some  memorial 
has  been  devised  that  shall  adequately  express  in  an  enduring  form  her 
obligations  to  him  as  her  foremost  citizen  during  the  first  century  of  her 
existence. 

It  is  not  my  province  to  predict  or  anticipate  tlie  future  of  our  city.  We  live 
in  an  age  when  knowledge  is  making  rapid  strides  toward  ultimate  predominance 
in  the  world.  Art  and  science  have  made  wonderful  progress  during  the  half- 
century  now  closing.  Xo  man  can  foretell  or  foresee  what  the  next  half-century 
will  develop  or  disclose.  Nowhere,  i)erhaps,  is  the  ingenuity  of  men  pushing 
more  vigorously  than  in  this  valley  the  search  for  Avhatever  will  extend  the 
boundaries  of  human  knowledge  and  promote  the  comfort  of  man  and  the  welfare 
of  society. 

This  enterprising  spirit  must  have  an  important  influence  upon  the  coming 
generations  in  this  city.  The  issue  under  heaven  must  depend  on  ourselves. 
If  we  are  true  to  our  responsibilities  —  if  we  perform  faithfully  our  duties,  both 
public  and  private  —  if  we  guard  carefully  against  the  intrusion  of  evil  influences 
—  if  M^e  cherish  a  regard  for  the  memory  of  our  fathers  and  maintain  the 
standard  of  virtue,  intelligence,  and  religion,  which  they  established,  there  is 
no  degree  of  prosperity  and  happiness,  however  exalted,  to  which  we  may  not 
attain. 

Music  by  the  Orpheus  Club,  assisted  by  Mrs.  P.  S.  Bailey  and 
Gartland's  Band,  followed  the  address. 

Ji'DGK  Kkowltox.  —  The  first  settlers  of  New  England  were  occupied  with 
the  practical  affairs  of  daily  life.  It  was  not  the  beauty  of  the  fair  Connecti- 
cut, as  eluding  the  two  grim  sentinels  that  stood  hi  her  path,  she  escaped  in 
graceful  curves  through  this  fertile  valley  to  the  sea,  that  attracted  the  attention 
and  fixed  the  habitation  of  our  fathers.  It  was  her  utility,  as  a  bearer  of  bur- 
dens to  and  from  the  harbors  on  the  southern  shore,  that  made  her  priceless  in 
their  eyes.  But  their  fathers  in  England  had  seen  Shakespeare,  and  the  spark 
of  poetic  fire  Avhich  they  brought  with  them  was  buried,  not  extinguished,  and 
it  needed  but  a  zephyr's  breath  to  fan  it  into  flame.  Springfield  now  has 
poets  not  a  few,  and  among  them  all  there  is  none  more  beloved,  or  who  sings 
sweeter  songs,  than  he  who  adorns  the  judicial  bench,  and  scatters  by  the 
wayside  garlands  of  poesy.  I  introduce  the  poet  of  the  day,  Judge  William  S. 
Shurtleff. 


584 


SPRINGFIELD,    IG3G-18S6. 


ANNIVERSARY    ODE. 


BY   JUDGE   WILLIAM 


'HURTLEFF. 


A  timely  thought,  — 
Heaven  sent,  or  by  a  happy  fortune  caught 

As  it  was  wandering,  like  a  floated  seed. 

Seeking  a  soil  in  need, 
Its  lodgment  finding  in  a  troubled  brain 
That  had  been  querying  long,  in  vain, 

Why    God    in    his    just    providence    had 
wrought 
That  reason  should  in  all  be  free 
But  action  sometimes  held  in  slavery, 

The  servant  of  a  single  equal's  will,  — 
That  somewhere  in  the  new-found  West 

There  might  be  still, 
As   yet   concealed  from    keen  Oppression's 
quest, 

Beyond  the  circle  of  the  chainless  sea, 

A  haven  God-reserved  for  Liberty. 

On  Leyden  strands 
A  kneeling  minister  with  heavenward  hands 
Amid  a  tearful  throng, 
Embraces  close,  and  lingered  long, 

Of  separating  friends. 
In  parting  that  a  life's  association  ends. 

And  fervent  farewells  spoken   fearing- 

ly,- 

A  shallop  beating  out  to  sea, 
To  westward  sailed. 
Upon  its  prow  a  stately  figure  veiled, 
A  cross  within  her  hand. 


Her  foot  on  Plymouth  strand, 

And  Freedom  reached  her  heritage  I 
Repressed  in  every  Eastern  land. 
Oppressed  in  every  earlier  age. 
At  last  she  stood 
Untrammelled  in  the  "Western  solitude, 
Wherein,  since  air  to  sound  was  stirred. 
No  irritated  ear  had  heard 
The  tones  of  tyranny,  whose  soil  no   step 

had  trod 
Subservient  to  any  one  but  God ! 
Above  her  haughty  head 
Her   pure    white    banner  to    the    free    air 
spread. 


Her  cautious  veil  forever  cast  aside, 
Upon  her  girded  waist  displayed 
A  gleaming  blade 

She  cared  no  more  to  hide, 

And  facing  to  the  Eastern  sky 

Together  sword  and  cross  she  lifted  high. 

And,  swiftly  following  hers. 

The  feet  of  many  hasteners, 
From  out  the  cruel  lands  of  eld,  — 

The  throne-emburdened  lands, — 
Around  the  standard  that  she  held 

Quick  gathered  on  the  narrow  strands 
Between  the  wilds  of  wave  and  wood, 
A  mightful  multitude  — 

With  eager  eyes 

Alight  with  hope  and  grand  emprise, 
And  hearts  resolved  with  her  to  share 
Whatever  fortune  should  await  her  there. 
Three  thousand  miles  of  separating  sea 
Between  them  and  the  tyranny 

From  which  they  fled, 
Three  thousand  miles 

Before  them,  open  to  their  trustful  tread, 
Of  land  in  liberty  ; 

Above  them  Heaveji's  smiles 

Around  them  everywhere 
Extending  to  their  bold  adventurous  eyes 

A  new  world  uncorrupt  and  fair 
And  free  for  every  enterprise 
Consistent  with  their  Christian  creed, 
And  in  their  ears  God's  own  "  God-speed  I  " 

'Tis  near  three  hundred  years  ago 
Since  that  brave  pilgrim  band 

Led  by  God's  hand, 
As  they   believed   and  we  their  children 
know, 
(Accrediting  the  good  that  is  the  sequence 
of  that  planned 
In  their  heroic  exodus), 
The  pioneers  for  us 
And  all  who  shall  hereafter  be 
Heirs  of  this  land  of  liberty 

Upon   this  Western   coast  with  Freedom 
made  their  stand. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


585 


A  quarter  of  a  thousand  years  ago, 
These  pilgrim-pioueers 
To  westward  wended  from  the  eastward  bay 

And  hither  plodded  sturdily  but  slow 
(As  needs  they  must  through   wilds  would 
stay 
Their     steps     intrusive  —  from     well- 
grounded  fears 
That  these  stern  strangers  ill-disposed 
The  calm  in  which  the  wood  had  long  re- 
posed), 
And  there,  yon  hill-top's  brow  below, 

They   halted,  pleased  upon   their   rugged 

road, 
A\Tiere  frequent  fountains  of  sweet  waters 
flowed, 
For  needed  rest  awhile,  and  he 
Who  led  them,  mindful  of  hie  English  home, 
To   which  his   exiled  thoughts   would   oft- 
times  roam 
And   mindful  of   the   many   sjrrings  that 

yield 
Their  largess  still  into  the  lower/eW, 
By   cooling  draught   refreshed   said  grate- 
fully, 
•'Henceforth  this   spot  shall  'Springfield' 
i)e!" 
Thus  in  their  van, 

Leader  by  nature,  and  elect  of  man. 
Born  to  command,  unfitted  to  obey. 
Spake   William  Pi/nclion,  marshal  of  the 
day  : 

"  Had  those  adventurous  men 
The  troublous  times  that  intervene 

Between  the  now  and  then. 
The  toils  and  dangers  Fate  before  them  laid 

"With  sight  prophetic  seen. 
Would  they  have  undismayed 
Still  followed  Freedom  in  her  perilous  Cru- 
sade? " 
Ask  of  the  Pilgrim  statue  there 
So  sternly  standing  on  our  central  square  ! 
O  Hartley!  you,  upon  you  pedestal  of  stone, 

Have  better  shown 
Than  can  the  tongue  of  orator  or  poet's  song 

Or  History's  pen, 
The  spirit,  mould,  and  measure  of  the  men 
To  whom  the   greatest   glories  of  our 
belong; 
You  have  personified 
The  pilgrim-pioneer  and  Puritan, 


Than  which  there  none 
Of  all  the  heroes  yet  by  History  descried 

In  all  the  centuries  flown. 
Since  bravery  in  the  world  its  deeds  began, 

Stands  forth  so  strong 
As  type  of  God's  intended  manly  man  1 
The  speech  of  orator,  the  poet's  lay, 

And  History's  clearest  printed  page 
Will  pass   from   memory   of    men'.s   minds 
away. 
But  there  your  work  will  linger  long 
To  passing  generations'  thoughts  engage. 
And  make    them     mindful    of    what    men 

should  be 
To  win,  and  what  they  were  who  won,  their 
liberty . 

Go,  patriots  of  the  present  day 

Who  valiantly  at  odds  contend 
With    every    evil    as    it    strides    upon    the 
way, 
And  from  those  bronzed  lips  take  cheer, 
And   courage   new    that   shall   your  hearts 

defend 
Against  each  fearing  Doubt,  each  doubting 

Fear. 
Go,  trifler  of  the  present  age, 
AVhose  longest  pilgrimage 
Extends    from    pleasures    wearied    of    to 
pleasure's  quest, 
And  there,  before  that  statute,  prone, 
Your  missing  manliness  bemoan, 
And,  self-confessed, 
A  pigmy  by  a  giant's  side, 
Make  question  then. 
If  retrograding  from  his  soul's  selected  plan 
Was  possible  for  such  a  man. 
Ah  no  !     Those  mighty  men  — 

Miles  Morgan  and  his  mates  — 
Held  God's  commission  here  to  bide 

And  found  His  sovereign  States; 
And  bide  they  did  and  would  have  done, 
And  biding,  would  have  won, 
Against    the    threatnings   of    a  thousand 
worser  fates  I 
The  forest  trees, 
Deep  rooted  here  for  centuries, 
Not  firmer  than  their  pui poses; 
The  prehistoric  hills 
Not  stronger  than  their  steadfast  wills, 

The  river  at  their  side,  — 
The  massinsi  of  a  myriad  rills, 


586 


SPRINGFIELD,    16S6-1886. 


Re.sistless  sweeping  dowiiwani  to  the  seas  — 

Had  not  more  trenchant  tide 
Than  their  concurrent   courses  overwhehn- 

ing  all 
Would   hold   their  bodies   or  their  souls  in 
thrall. 


When  to  the  Plymouth  sands 

He  bid  the  pilgrim  bauds 

As  pioneers  advance 
To  found  a  nation  that  should  be 
The  host  of  all  the  hosts  that  dare  be  fn 


But,  ah !  could  they  have  peered 
Adown  the  coming  centuries, 
And  seen  in  sequence  swift  unfold 
What  our  now  retrospecting  eyes  behold, 
How  had  their  hearts  been  cheered : 
Here,  where  they  stood, 

With  anxious  but  unfearing  eyes. 
Surveying  doubtfully  the  dismal  wood 
That  held,  from  them  concealed,  the  wealth 

to  be 
Their  gift  to  their  posterity. 

Ah !  had  there  been  with  them  some  bard 
Inspired  to  see,  and  seeiugsing 
To  them  the  pennant  that  they  bore, 

Succeeded  by  the  banner  many  starred 
Round  which  our  cheers  rejoicing  ring 
From  eastern  to  the  western  shore. 

On  land  and  ocean  never  fearing  furled, 
Afloat  above  a  crowded  continent 
Of  freemen  of  their  own  enfranchisement, 
Proclaiming  to  the  watching  world. 

Her  latest  and  her  greatest  peril  passed, 

Freedom  secure  at  last. 
What  comfort  and  content 

AVould  his  inspiring  song  have  brought, 

To  them  so  peril-fraught ! 

Ah  !  had  to  them  some  seer  foretold 
What  now  our  prideful  ejes  behold 
Within  the  fairest  bay 
That  shelters  commerce  from  the  sea 
Where  rises  all  triumphantly  to-day 
The  giant  statue  that  shall  stand 
Extending  in  its  mighty  hand 
To  all  oppressed  of  every  other  land 

The  beacon  light  of  liberty  I 
Ah!  happy  sequence  of  the  timely  thought 

On  Leyden  strand  '. 
O  happy  inspiration  heaven  taught '. 
O    generous    genius    of     Freedom  -  loving 

France ! 
Bartholdi !  you  have  wisely  wrought 
In  that  momentous  monument 
Expression  of  the  end  of  God's  intent 


But  neither  bard  nor  seer 
To  them  gave  prophecy  or  cheer ; 
Xor  did  their  visions  seek  to  stray 
'        Bej'ond  the  dawning  duty  of  each  day. 
I        If    bards   or  seers  there   were   they  neither 

spoke 
j  Or  sung  of  warning  or  of  hope ; 

Theirs  only  then  to  bend  them  to  the  yoke 
I  Of  present  toil  and  stubbornly  to  cope 

With  obstacles  on  every  side 
Their  onward  movement  stubbornly  denied; 
They  dealt  with  stern  prosaic  facts; 
And  had  no  lime  or  mood  for  carolling; 
Xor   were  those  days  the  days   for   poet's 
dreams;  — 
They  never  sing 
Who  are  themselves  for  song  tit  themes,— 
Their  poems  are  their  acts ! 
And  those  men  stood 
As  Freedom's  allies  in  her  direst  needs, 
The  actors  of  an  epic  fuller  of  events, 
Of  rare  romance  and  daring  deeds. 
Than  any  that  the  muse  of  any  a^e  pre 
sents,  — 
An  epic  we  continued,  banishing  the  brood 
Of  Freedom's  foes  in  her  last  fray  subdued, 
Of  which  the  bronzed  soldier  there 
Xow  picketed  upon  our  public  .square 
Companioning  his  Pilgrim  prototype  so  well. 
Will  to  the  Future's  pilgrims  tell. 

A  quarter  of  u.thousand  years  have  passed 
Since  these  few  pioneers, 
Though  peril-hunted  and  harassed 
Their  courage   still   outmarching  far   their 

fears, 
Hither  hewed  the  earliest  pathway  from  the 
bay. 
By  battling  underwood 
At  every  step  withstood  ;  — 
And  homing  halted  here  and   were  content 
to  stay; 
No  thronging  to  the  self-same  road  — 
"  The  Bay  Path  "—now  by  steeples  foresti-d. 

And  garland-strewed, 
A  vast  procession  of  their  sons  appear.s  — 


SPRiyOFIELD,    1636-1886. 


587 


In  long  and  serried  phalanx  lined  and  massed, 
And  at  its  head, 
As  chosen  leader  still  bestowed 
To  guide  these  later  pilgrims  on  their  easy 
way, 
Rides  William  Pynchon,   riui,-!<1inl  of  the 
day  I 

Aye!  still  a  Pilgrim  band, 
Upon  this  midway  mound 
(A  foothill  to  the  mountain  of  our  hope, 

An  Alpine  altitude 
Unto  our  fathers,  when  they  stood 
Upon  their  halting-grouud. 
Below  upon  the  pathless  plain) 
We  make  a  momentary  stand 
To  take  new  horoscope 
And  measure  progress,  and  in  resting  gain 
Fresh  breath  for  climbing  to  the  higher  height 
They  scarcely   saw  with  Faith's  prophetic 
sight. 

And  here  we  well  may  proudly  pause 
And  backward  trace  with  well-contented 
eyes 
Each  happy  consequent  to  happy  cause,  — 
As  lusty  toilers,  at  noon-rest  a-field. 
Review  the  well  accomplished  work  that 
lies 
Behind  them,  promise  of  the  generous 
yield 
With   added   toil   in    loaded    wains   shall 
come 
To  glad  their  granaries  at  the  harvest  home  — 
And  here  we  might  repentingly  review 
The  errors  led  our  careless  steps  astray 
To  wanderings  untrue 
Unto  the  God-appointed  path 

Whereon  the  pilgrim  fathers  took   their 
patient  way. 
To  which  turned  backward  by  his  wrath, 
Rebuked  and  lessoned,  we  at  last  have  found 
Our  feet  upon  this  vantage  ground, 
Successors  of  the  pilgrim  pioneers, 
And  bearing  still  the  standard  that  they 
bore 
(With  added  laurels  wreathed) 
Each  one  a  peer,  and  only  such,  'mong  only 
peers, 
Inheritors  of  all  the  wealth  and  lore 
Of  all  the  centuries  that  have  gone  before, 
And  heirs-apparent  of  the  coming  years, 
Inhaling  freer  air 


Than    man    in    any   other  age   or   land   has 

breathed. 
Our  paths  to  choose,  constrained  alone  to 

care 
To  follow  in  the  course  that  trends  the  way 
The  Father  of  our  fathers  led  them   from 

the  Bay. 

But  not  to  us,  as  unto  them, 
The  task  to  stem 
Oppression's  still  pursuing  wave 
That  everrode  the  servient  sea 
With  following  throngs  of  tyranny  ; 
Not  ours,  as  theirs,  to  brave 

The  inland  peril  of  the  ambuscade. 
Our  path  secure  is  made ; 

On  neither  side 
Our  ocean-guarded  continent 
Dares  any  foreign  foe  display  his  tent ; 
On  all  the  seas, 
Our  ships  at  ease. 

Offending  not,  and  unoffended  ridt'. 
Protected  by  the  menace  of  a  flag  that  vies 
In  glory  won  with  all  in  all  the  skies  ; 

No  savage  foes 
Disturb  the  quiet  of  our  home  repose; 
As  safe  as  any  star  in  heaven 
From  onset  from  another  star. 
Our  perils  come  not  from  without  or  far— 
The  wounds  we  have  to  fear  are  those  self- 
given, — 

But  this  is  festal  day ; 
A  day  for  gratulating  song  and  speech; 
The  pulpit  and  the  press  may  preach 
But  not  the  poet's  lay 
Around  this  happy  homestead  hearth, 
"\,^Tiereto  are  called  the  wanderers,  from  the 

path 
Begun  with  us,  who  sought  in  pastures  new 
A  herbage   sweeter  than   their  home  hills 
grew. 
And  they  have  come  at  our  behest;  — 
Across   broad  prairies    of    the    widening 
West ; 
Great  oceans  passing  (pathways  still 
For  pilgrims  that  with  freemen  will 
Yet  people  every  vacant  rood  remains 
Between     the     eastern     and     the     western 

mains)  ; 
From  Xorthlands  they  persuade  to  yield 
The  harvest  of  New  England's  fertile  field; 


588 


SPRINGFIELD,    16S6-1S86. 


From  Southern  ])lains  whose  sensuous  ease 
They  have  aroused  to  active  industries; 
From  crowded  cities  of  the  eager  East 
Where  Entei-prise  sits  goldeu-fleeced; 
Each  prideful  of  his  later  choice, 
But  all  avowing  with  accordant  voice 
Their  loyalty,  all  other  homes  above, 
To  this  the  city  of  their  earliest  love, 
Who,  like  a  mild-eyed  mother,  at  her  mid- 
dle age, 
Content  and  cosey  and  serene  and  sage, 
With  every  added  year 
Become  more  lovable  and  dear, 
As  all  New  England  mothers  do 
Who  Time  to  gentle  treatment  gently  woo, 
Outspreads  the  old  Thanksgiving  cheer 
Before  her  children  guests,  assured  that  they 
With   her   are   glad  of   one   more  homelife 
holiday ! 

And  at  the  banquet  she  has  spread 

Sit  many  not  "  unto  the  manor  born," 
But  to  the  manor  warmly  welcomed 
The  fugitives  forlorn  :  — 
And  aspirants  for  liberty 
From  every  yet  unliberated  laud 
Around  her  crowded  table  stand, 
And  she  is  smiling  equally  on  all, 
Xor  makes  distinction,  at  her  festival, 
Of  race  or  color,  rank  or  nationality. 
The  Scotsmen  with  their  kindred  gift  — 

Xew  England  thrift,  — 
With  Bismarck's  absentees  sit  side  by  side 
Contented  both  to  bide 
With  us  and  Freedom  fortune  here; 
And,  gladdened,  draws  a-near 
The  sad  Italian,  in  whose  darkened  eyes 
The  gathered  gloom  of  ages  of   depression 
lies ; 
And  haught  Hungarians,  ever  mutinous 
Against  the  edicts  of  the  fateful  day 
That  gave  them  to  the  hated  Austrian  sway, 
Forego  their  fierceness  here  in  feast  with 
us; 
And  here,  the  wrathful  Russian  refugees, 
Sojourning  at  their  ease. 
Watch  safely,  from  afar. 
The  cordon  closing  round  the  Czar ; 
And  hardy  sous  of  Switzerland 
Have  left  their  mountains  grand 
With  tales  of  glory  of  their  own  to  tell. 
Half  free  at  home,  all  free  with  us  to  dwell. 


And  loiterers  from  the  land  of  Lafayette, 
Whose  gallant  lance,  — 
(Let  no  American  forget 
On  such  a  day  as  this  that  still  uncancelled 
debt)  — 
Stood  for  the  sympathy  and  aid  of  France 
When  both  were  sorely  ueeded  here, 
Take  as  of  right  a  portion  of  the  cheer ! 
And    strangest   sequel    of   our    strange    ro- 
mance, 
The  self -expatriated  Englishman, 

Withdrawing  his  allegiance 
From  service  of  the  gentlest  Queen 

That  ever  sceptre  swayed. 
Has  here  his  home  in  preference  made, 
Escaping   so    his   part    as  actor   in   the 
scene 
That  closes  now  the  act  America  began ; 
And,  near  him  at  the  banquet  table  sit 

(Of  their  parts,  too,  not  yet  acquit, 
Postponing  them  perhaps  a  \vJ3ile) 
The  ousted  owners  of  that  injured  isle  — 
Ah !  once  the  land  of  laughter,  song,  and 

wit,  — 
Where  only  Nature  now  is  seen  to  smile— 
The  ire-ful  sous  of  well  named  /re-land, 

Compatriots  of  Parneil 
"The   king  uncrowned,"   whose  more  than 

sceptred  hand 
Is  raised  to  retribution's  ready  bell, 
In  warning  and  command,  — 
Descendants  of  the  Pilgrims,  in  your  needs 
They  were    your  comrades    in    courageous 
deeds. 
Upon  your  every  freedom-perilled  plain 
Their  blood  as  freely  flowed  as  yours; 
The  conquest  that  your  peace  secures 

They  helped  you  gain. 
Send  forth  to-day  across  the  sea 
To  ears  that  wait  it  wistfully 
Your  "  God-speed  Ireland  to  like  victory!  " 
And  last,  but  far  from  least  of  all 
Who  come  to  share  our  festival. 
Forgiving  generously  the  wrong 
Repaired  so  late,  endured  so  long. 
Sit  those   we   have  from  our  own   slavery 
released. 
At  such  a  feast 
There  should   not  be  — nor   shall  my  sum- 
mons call  — 
One  spectre  of  the  past ;  one  Futured  fear. 
Xaught  should  be  here 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1S86. 


589 


That  Faith  and  IIopi^  and  happy  :Nremory 

Would  have  away ; 
Distrust  and  Gloom  and  boding  Prophecy 

Must  bide  some  other  bard  and  day ! 


A  quarter  of  a  thousand  years  ago 
Our  faith-led  pioneers 
Here  made  an  end  of  pilgrimage, 
Their  object,  as  they  thought,  accomplished 
so, 
Contented  in  their  simple  spheres, 
No  further    purpose    did    their  thoughts 

engage 
Than  to  Grod's  instant  willing  know 
And  do  it  instantly. 
But  what  say  we, 
O  Pilgrims  of  this  later  eager  age? 
Where  shall  we  fix  in  all  the  coming  years 
The  ending  of  our  willing  way  ? 
When  will  your  followers  halt  for  hermitage, 
O  William  Pynchon,  marshal  of  the  day  ? 


Ah,  not  until  our  latest  energies 

Are  lent  unto  the  purposes 

That  led  our  fathers  here  across  the  seas ; 

The  pilgrimage  by  them  begun 
Can  be  abandoned  by  no  pilgrim's  son. 
We  have    their    duties    with    their    dower 

inherited ; 
And  go  not  of  ourselves  but,  Heaveu-led, 

Each  one  an  instrument 
Of  God's  will  clearly  manifest, 
On  to  the  doing  of  his  next  behest. 
Search  through  the  fabric  of  the  Past, 

And  trace  the  thread  — 
Unparted  and  unf rayed  from  first  to  last 
That  makes  the  warp  on  which  is  spread 
The  wondrous  wooi  of  our  heroic  history, 

And  not  one  moment  missed 
Nor  once  involved  in  mystery  — 
The  thread  of  God's  intent  — 
That  will  forevermore  insist 
Till  man  shall  weave  thereon  the  last  event 
Of  Freedom's  full  accomplishment. 
From  hence  straight  on. 

Upon  the  uncompleted  pilgrimage 
Still  Freedom's  \var8  perhaps  to  wage, 
Our  course   and   our   successors'  course  is 

laid. 
And  cannot  be  evaded  or  outstrayed 


Until   the    latest   pilgrim's  foot  shall  rest 
upon 
That  farthest  strand 
Which  Time's  last  wasting  wave 
Shall  lapsing  lave, 
Upon  whose  shining  shore. 
With  pilgrims  who  have  gone  before, 
Shall  angels  watching  stand. 
With  brightened  eyes,  to  see 
The  ending  of  the  Leyden   shallop's  voyage 
of  liberty. 

A  quarter  of  a  thousand  years  from  now 

Another  band  of  pioneers 
Shall  pause  to  rest  upon  the  brow- 
Of  some  far  loftier  height, 
We  only  see  with  Faith's  prophetic  sight, 
And,  gazing  back  adown  the  years 
Upon  our  age  shall  say, 
"  Ah,  then   and   there  the  crucial   time  ap- 
pears ! 
They  were  wise  men  who  met  the  issues  of 
that  day, — 
Men  just,  who  set  their  bondmen  free,— 
Men  brave,  who  shed  their  blood. 
In  lavish  flood, 
Xot  for  their  own,  but  all  men's  liberty,— 
Men  fair,  who  filled  the  flaws 
Of  justice  —  meting  equitable  laws  ; 
That  was  the  age 
When  regnant  stood  Reform  upon  the  civil 
stage ; 
The  era  when  the  red  men  long  aggrieved 
Their  wrested  rights  received ; 
The  century  when  the  color  line 
Xo  longer  could  the  rights  of  man  define; 
"  When  Capital  and  Labor  sensibly  agreed 
That  each  the  other  equally  did  need; 
When  ISIammou  was  from  pow-er  dismissed  ; 
When  politics  were  purified 
And  office  its  official  sought 
And  only  merchandise  was  sold  or  bought; 

And,  side  by  side, 
Accounted  equals  on  the  civil  list. 

The  Woman  and  the  Mau 
Commenced  anew  upon  God's  primal  plan. 
Ah !  those  were  pure  and  patriotic  days !  " — 

Unto  such  praise. 
By  lis  to  be  deserved,  from  hence  to-day 
The  Pilgrim  Pynthon^s  spirit  marshals  us 
away  ! 


^^0  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


This  memorable  meeting  closed  with  the  singing  of  "America," 
and  a  benediction  pronounced  by  Rev.  John  W.  Harding,  of  Long- 
meadow. 

The  event  in  the  evening  of  Tuesday  was  the  banquet  at  the  Mas- 
sasoit  Hotel.  The  dining-hall  was  decorated,  and  the  guests  were 
disposed  at  the  tables  as  follows  :  — 

Table  No.  l._Hon.  L.  J.  Powers,  Hon.  W.  E.  Locke,  Hon.  H.  C.  Greely 
Hon.  L.  J.  Logan,  Hon.  A.  B.  Coffin,  Hon.  A.  C.  Chapin,  Hon.  J.  Bourne,' 
General  Dalton,  Governor  Robinson,  Hon.  E.  D.  Metcalf,  Hon.  E.  H.  Lathrop 
Lieutenant-Governor  Ames,  Hon.  H.  L.  Dawes,  Hon.  G.  M.  Stearns,  Hon.  A.' 
E.  Msbury,  Hon.  E.  D.  Allen,  Hon.  H.  B.  Peirce,  Hon.  J.  H.  Butler,  Rev. 
1.  R.  Pynchon. 

Table  No.  2.  -  Geo.  R.  Dickinson,  Hon.  E.  Wight,  G.  Bill,  E.  S.  Flower  J 
H.  Newton,  E.  K.  Bodurtha,  A.  F.  Allen,  N.  C.  Ne^^ell,  C.  L.  Covell  Wm' 
Birme,  E.  Stebbins,  James  Abbe,  W.  F.  Fletcher,  F.  W.  Dickinson,'  J.  B. 
Clements,  H.  S.  Dickinson,  J.  S.  Sanderson,  John  Olmsted,  L.  S.  Stowe  E 
Hedges,  E.  A.  Russeh,  C.  D.  Rood,  D.  Beebe,  Rev.  .L  W.  Harding,  Hon.  J  j' 
O  Connor,  Hon.  S.  WinsloAv. 

TaUe  No.  3.- Hon.  G.  Bliss,  Judge  W.  S.  Shurtleff,  Rev.  J.  Cuckson,  Samuel 
Bowles,  Hon.  W.  H.  Haile,  E.  W.  Bond,  Chas.  Marsh,  H.  S.  Lee,  J.  B  Steb- 
bins, Captain  Emery,  A.  Rumrill,  Jas.  Kirkham,  J.  S.  Hurlbut,  J.  M.  Cooley 
H  D.  Carroll,  A.  B.  Underbill,  E.  Gallup,  R.  F.  Hawkins,  J.  D.  Safford,  G  h' 
Bleloch,  Hon.  G.  Wells,  E.  W.  Kinsley,  N.  A.  Leonard,  Hon.  J.  L.  Houston! 
Hon.  W.  L.  Smith. 

Table  No.   4. -Judge  A.  L.   Soule,   Col.  J.  A.  Rumrill,   Hon.  D.   A.  Wells 
Wm.  Bhss,  Col.  Wm.  Edwards,  Hon.  H.  S.  Hyde,  C.  A.  Nichols,  D.  P.  Crocker' 
Hon.  E   Gaylord,  E.  C.  Rogers,  F.  A.  Judd,  W.  K.  Baker,  Rev.  M.  Burnham,' 
R.  O.  Morris,  W.  O.  Day,  Col.  W.  P.  Alexander,  Maj.  Z.  C.  Rennie,  Dr.  T.  F 
Breck,  E.  Morgan,  Col.  M.  V.  B.  Edgerly,  Hon.  H.  M.  Phillips,   Col.  M    P 
Walker,  Colonel  Boynton,  Colonel  Greenough,  General  Nettleton 

Table  No.  5.  -Colonel  Whipple,  Colonel  Currier,  Colonel  Stearns,  Hon.  W. 
Smith,  C.  P.  Deane,  G.  N.  Tyner,  J.  T.  Abbe,  W.  H.  Brooks,  W.  J    Denver 
J.  N.  Keller,  R.  W.  Day,  J.  G.  Mcintosh,  J.  D.  Gill,  A.  B.  Forbes,  A.  B    Wal- 
ace    W.   H.  Wright,  C.  W.   MuteU,  T.  M.  Brown,  J.   L.  Shipley,  Hon.  M    G 
Bulkeley,  Colonel  Blakeslee,  Colonel  Hyde,  D.  J.  Marsh,  Gen.  H.  C    Dwigbt 

Table  No.  6.  -  Hon.  B.  Weston,  J.   H.  Hendricks,  Dr.   Carmichael.  E.  Beld- 
mg,  H.  Smith,  E.   D.   Chapin,  E.   P.   Chapin,  C.  Fuher,  Dr.  Birnie,  A.  Birnie 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6.  591 


Campbell  Chapin.  C.  K.  Stickney,  N.  D.  Bill,  Oscar  Ely,  F.  D.  Foot,  C.  A. 
Birnie,  C.  A.  Fisk,  E.  Luther,  Homer  Foot,  vS.  B.  Stebbhis,  O.  II.  Greeiileaf. 
F.  H.  Harris,  J.  W.  Cumnock,  E.  F.  Hamlin. 

E.  H.  Lathrop  being  presented  to  the  company  by  Mayor  Metcalf, 
as  toast-master,  began  the  speaking  by  these  remarks  :  — 

Appreciating  the  kindliness  and  courtesy  of  my  introduction  by  His  Honor 
the  Mayor,  it  nevertheless  is  not  my  province  or  purpose  to  intrude  upon  the  oc- 
casion with  a  speech.  I  am  but  the  torch-bearer,  and  if  I  am  successful  in  firing 
the  fuse  of  eloquent  talk  of  gentlemen  about  us,  I  am  content.  This  anniver- 
sary marks  the  advance  of  successful  civil  government,  and  is  the  result  of  our 
American  method  of  law,  good  morals,  and  good  order,  as  well  as  of  our  local 
pride,  enterprise,  and  growth.  It  is  peculiarly  appropriate  that  we  should  recog- 
nize now  in  our  first  sentiment  a  citizen  loyal  to  good  government,  the  repre- 
sentative head  of  the  nation.  As  his  representative,  therefore,  I  call  upon  a 
gentleman  as  well  known  in  this  community  as  he  is  loved  and  respected. 
United  States  District  Attorney,  George  M.  Stearns. 

Mr.  Stearns.  —  Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen, — I  thank  you  very  heartily 
for  the  courtesy  and  the  kind  remembrance  with  which  you  thus  compliment  the 
President  of  the  United  States  of  America.  I  also  thank  you  for  permitting  me 
to  respond  for  him  here  to-night.  It  would  be  strange,  indeed,  if  I  were  not 
desirous  of  so  doing  in  view  of  the  fact  that  by  his  generous  favor  I  am  now  roll- 
ing in  princely  affluence,  and  I  am  just  entering  upon  the  rot  and  degeneracy 
engendered  by  luxuries  which  my  magnificent  salary  affords.  1  can  speak  Avith 
the  fullest  confidence  of  the  deep  affection  and  high  regard  of  the  President  of 
the  United  States  for  the  city.  [Tremendous  applause.]  For  Avhom  he  loveth 
he  chasteneth,  and  has  he  not  just  laid  the  warm,  hot  hand  of  his  love  upon  you? 
No  city  east  of  the  rolling  waters  of  the  Mississippi  has  thus  been  distinguished, 
and  no  other  city  has  received  such  tokens  of  his  fervent  and  abiding  affections. 
I  read  in  the  "  Union  "  of  Saturday  that  the  true  reasons  for  the  veto  of  the  port 
of  delivery  bill  Avere  not  contained  therein,  but  that  down  under  the  surface,  and 
deep  in  "unfathomable  mines  of  never-failing  skill."  were  treasured  up  dark 
designs  and  undeclared  causes.  I  am  not  atithorized  by  the  President  to  reveal 
those  secrets,  but  any  inquisitive  Yankee  can  readily  guess  some  of  them.  How 
could  any  one  view  this  fair  city,  fringed  Avith  the  daisy  and  the  buttercup,  the 
green  fields  and  the  silver  river,  its  embowered  homes,  its  shady  streets,  its  hill 
and  dale,  its  Stearns  park  [merriment],  its  Morgan  monument,  its  City  Hall,  in 


^^^  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


which  no  words  of  contention  or  dispute  were  ever  heard,  and  in  which  none 
ever  will  be,  until  the  human  voice  attains  proportions  unknown  even  to  Homer's 
giants.  -  endure  the  thought  of  casting  over  all  the  shadow  of  a  great  national 
mart?     Do  you  think  of  the  consequences  that  would  have  fallen  on  this  city  if 
they  had  not  been  averted  by  the  President's  generous  act?   Your  elections    now 
so  peaceful,  so  simple,  so  friendly,  so  neighborly,  conducted  under  the  guileless 
guardianship  of  our  friends,  Powers,  Hyde,  Phillips,  and  a  host  of  others,  who 
hke  them,  have  never  sampled  the  arts  of  politics,  nor  been  brought  within  the 
withering  influence  of  a  custom-house  ring.     Have  you  thought  of  the  awful 
scramble  for  office  that  would  have  ensued?     Do  you  say  you  could  easily  settle 
those  matters  among  yourselves  ?     Then  you  reckon  without  your  host.     Do  you 
thmk  the  resources  of  Chicopee  are  exhausted?     [Laughter.]     Do  you  imagine 
that  the  few  contributions  we  have  made  to  office  have  left  us  without  a   supply 
of  material  for  public  service?     Do  you  forget  that  Berkshire  lies  within  thirty 
miles  of  your  custom-house  door?  and  do  you  think  that  she  would  be  so  recreant 
to  the  traditions  of  the  county,  so  false  to  the  teachings  of  her  history,  that  she 
will  abridge  the  limitless  sweep  of  her  hungry  hand?     Fled  like  the  golden  sum- 
mer cloud  would  be  the  repose  of  this  city  when  Berkshire's  highlanders  and  Chic- 
opee's   chieftains   meet  in   battle  array  contending   for  the  patronage   of   vour 
custom-house,  and  I  behold  poor  Springfield,  two   hundred  and   fifty  years ^old 
bowing  her  hoary  head,  and  praying  for  her   ancient  peace,  and  serenity,  and 
silence. 

The  best  recipe  I  have  ever  read  for  casting  cannon  was  to   take  a  great  hole 
and  pour  iron  all  around  it.    It  is  satisfactory,  because  no  matter  how  frequently 
you  may  fail,  the  hole  remains  uninjured;  and  so  you  have  vour  hole  left  (your 
beautiful  Springfield),  although  the  federal  metal  has  refused  to  wreathe  around 
It.     What  more  do  you  need  to  make  glorious  this  anniversary?     Of  far  more 
importance  are  the  ability,  the  integrity,  and  the  honor  of  the  municipal  rules  of 
the  grand  old  cdty,  than  any  federal  aggrandizements,  or  enlargements,  or  acces- 
sories.    It  is  of  far  graver  import  to  you  by  whom,  and  bv  what  principles  and 
what  men  your  city  shall  be  governed,  than  who  shall  be  President  of  the  United 
States.     The  conviction  of  Alderman  Jaehne  is  of  more  value  to  the  future  his- 
tory of  New  York  City  than  the  distribution  of  federal  patronage  for  the  next  fifty 
years.    [Applause.]     You  have  no  scandal  or  stain  on  your  municipal  life.    You 
stand  here  to-day  looking  back  on  your  faint  beginnings,  made  impressive  by  the 
dust  that  time  has  scattered  over  them,  tracing  your  happy  history  to  the  present 
time,  proud  that  your  inheritance  has  not  been  made  pathetic  by  sin,  or  a  sor- 
rowing memory  by  wrong.     What  better  purpose,   what  higher  pride   can  vou 
have,  than  to  keep  unsullied  the  estate  bequeathed  to  you? 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  593 


Mr.  Lathrop.  — In  the  early  days,  Avhen  the  wise  men  of  the  East  in  Massa- 
chusetts Avere  projecting  their  poHtical  phms  and  purposes  of  state,  they  never 
decided  important  affairs  until  the  "  Elver  Gods  "  of  the  Connecticut  valley  Avere 
consulted  and  heard  from.  Massachusetts  has  returned  to  her  early  custom. 
The  "  river  gods"  are  yet  hero,  and  potent  in  the  politics  and  the  material  con- 
cerns of  the  Commomvealth.  In  response  to  our  call,  our  friend,  neighbor,  and 
governor  graces  our  occasion. 

Governor  Robinson.  — 3Ir.  President  and  Gentlemen,  — In  behalf  of  Massa- 
chusetts, Avhom  you  delight  so  cordially  to  honor,  I  receive  your  testimonial,  and 
shall  bear  it  with  me  as  your  tribute.  It  comes  not  to  me  personally,  for  what- 
ever is  accorded  to  the  Governor  of  the  State  is  ofRcial,  and  goes  to  the  people 
as  a  Avhole  and  the  government  of  Avhich  he  is  so  justly  proud.  My  friend  and 
neighbor  on  my  left  has  spoken  so  eloquently  of  the  whole  United  States  of 
America  that  he  has  taken  in  the  domain  of  Massachusetts,  and  still  more  closely 
the  little  village  of  Chicopee.  Indeed,  there  is  little  left  for  me  to  say,  and 
perhaps  it  Avill  be  all  the  more  grateful  to  your  ears  and  patience,  for  I  know 
you  are  already  adA^anced  tAvo  hundred  and  fifty  years,  Avith  all  the  feebleness 
that  comes  Avith  it,  so  you  cannot  bear  very  much  at  this  hour,  and  I  shall  part 
Avith  you  Avith  only  a  brief  delay.  Fortunately  no  one  person  present  speaks  for 
Massachusetts.  She  has  voices  in  every  town  and  city  and  at  every  point  of  her 
borders.  For  the  time  being  one  man  stands  officially  for  her,  but  everyAvhere 
her  voice  is  heard.  You  have  here  at  this  board  a  long  array  of  men,  armed 
and  equipped,  impatient  at  the  delay,  to  speak  for  the  good  old  Commonwealth. 
It  Avill  be  my  gratification,  therefore,  to  give  them  that  opportunity,  having 
already  said  in  another  place  to-day  something  in  her  behalf.  The  toast-master 
has  alluded  to  the  place  of  my  home,  and  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  for  me  to 
speak  of  Chicopee ;  to  speak  of  her  quietude,  her  good-felloAvship,  and  her  good 
citizenship.  Her  mark  in  life  has  not  been  made  in  this  year,  but  far  back, 
before  she  was  separated  from  the  good  old  toAvn  of  Springfield.  In  fact,  her 
attachment  is  so  strong  that  she  has  draAvn  many  others  Avithin  the  borders  of 
her  first  settlement.  My  friend  Stearns  and  myself,  Avhile  Ave  could  not  woo  the 
mother,  have  loved  her  daughter,  and  Ave  love  her  still.  Though  aac  live  on  the 
opposite  sides  of  the  street  Ave  are  never  jealous  of  our  attachment  to  her,  and 
never  dare  to  say  Avhich  thinks  more  of  her.  It  is  the  home  and  the  place 
of  men  Avho  this  year  and  in  many  other  years  that  are  gone  have  made  their 
mark  on  the  business,  the  mercantile,  and  the  governmental  prosperity  of  the 
CommouAvealth.  Do  you  need  to  be  told  in  Springfield  that  your  great  man  Avho 
led    the  Avay  of   transportation  in  Avestern    Massachusetts    found    his    birth  in 


594  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


Chicopee?  So  it  is  not  alone  in  the  present  year  that  the  men  of  Chic;opee  have 
been  in  the  front  and  have  gone  into  all  parts  of  the  State  and  country.  Do  you 
say  that  because  Chicopee  isn't  a  good  place  to  live  in?  No,  Chicopee  is  apt  to 
say  that  they  have  gone  because  their  presence  was  needed  elsewhere,  and  they 
have  gone  where  their  strength  was  wanted.  [Applause.]  You  may  go  north- 
ward from  here,  but  you  will  find  no  natural  line  between  Springfield  and 
Chicopee.  There  is  no  actual  separation  between  the  two.  Man  may  have  tried 
to  put  them  asunder,  but  God  has  joined  them  indissolubly,  and  there  they  stand, 
city  and  town,  close  together.  She  on  the  north  has  sought  no  other  alliance 
since  she  parted  with  you  temporarily,  and  she  will  not  seek  another.  But  if 
she  does,  it  \v\\\  be  a  reunion  with  the  good  old  town  of  Springfield.  Whatever 
makes  for  the  advancement  of  the  city  of  Springfield  contributes  to  the  glory  of 
Chicopee,  and  in  everything  that  shows  her  prosperity  rejoices  our  hearts.  I 
thank  you  for  your  indulgence,  and  gladly  give  Avay  to  others  who  are  to  follow. 

Ex-Mayor  William  H.  Haile,  responding  to  the  toast  "The 
City  of  Springfield,"  said  :  — 

I  am  asked  to  respond  to  a  toast  which  has  been  assigned  to  another,  and  to 
whom  we  should  have  all  gladly  Ustened ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  I  have  the 
feeling  that  any  citizen  who  at  such  a  time  as  this  should  refuse  to  respond  to 
a  call  to  appear  in  behalf  of  Springfield,  even  at  the  eleventh  hour,  would 
be  a  subject  for  proper  discipline.  This  city  may  be  pardoned  if  she  seem 
to-night  to  be  a  little  boastful.  Our  cup  of  joy  is  nearly  full,  and  if  we  could 
have  been  made  a  port  of  deHvery,  I  think  it  Avould  have  overflowed.  Let  us 
hope  that  our  senior  senator  and  the  representative  from  this  district  in  Con- 
gress may  yet  persuade  our  President  that  for  once  he  has  made  a  mistake.  This 
is  Springfield's  day,  and  she  is  proud  of  it.  We  do  not  wish  to  detract  from  the 
history  of  other  towns,  but  we  claim  in  various  ways  a  somewhat  remarkable 
record  for  ourselves,  as  regards  growth,  sound  finances,  and  intellectual  develop- 
ment, and  we  are  surrounded  by  a  galaxy  of  beautiful  daughters.  We  believe 
that  Springfield  has  a  promising  future.  Relying  on  an  overruling  Providence, 
our  people  have  but  to  do  their  duty,  and  we  shall  advance  to  a  point  of  eminence 
which  Ave  can  scarcely  realize  to-night.  Thus  we  look  into  the  future  thankfully 
and  hopefully. 

President  A.  E.  Pillsburv,  responding  to  the  toast  '•  The  Massa- 
chusetts Senate,"  said  :  — 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6.  595 


Mr.  Chairman,  Mr.  Toast-master,  Citizens,  and  Guests  of  Sjyringfield, It 

gives  me  pleasure  to  be  with  you  on  tiiis  festal  occasion,  and  to  add  to  the  over- 
flowing congratulations  which  attend  it,  those  of  the  less  numerous  and  more 
modest  branch  of  the  Commonwealth's  Congress,  as  you  have  styled  it.  I  was 
pained  to  observe,  Mr.  Toast-master,  that  in  calhng  on  me  to  speak  for  that  body 
you  did  not  favor  us,  saving  an  allusion  to  our  dignity,  with  any  expressions  of 
complement  such  as  you  have  liberally  bestowed  elsewhere.  This  was,  doubt- 
less, an  oversight,  for  you  know  that  the  Legislature  has  many  virtues.  We 
frequently  manage  to  get  through  a  day's  session  without  doing  any  serious 
mischief.  And  if  the  good  people  of  Massachusetts  generally  knew  how  much 
mischief  we  are  asked  to  do,  and  hoAv  much  of  that  we  refrain  from  doing,  they 
would  look  upon  the  Legislature  Avith  a  respect  Avhich,  I  fear,  that  much-abused 
body  has  never  commanded  in  their  eyes.  The  strength  of  your  own  represen- 
tation there  is  one  of  the  most  creditable  features  of  your  history  in  the  two 
centuries  and  a  half  whose  completion  you  celebrate  to-day.  With  the  earlier 
part  of  that  history  I  am  bound  to  confess  I  am  little  familiar ;  but  in  late  years 
one  of  your  most  remarkable  qualities,  as  it  appears  to  us  who  live  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  State,  is  the  facility  Avith  which  you  acquire,  and  the  urbanity  with 
which  you  accept,  the  public  offices.  When  a  desirable  place  falls  vacant  in 
almost  any  department  of  the  government  we  disinterested  lookers-on  down 
in  Suffolk  and  thereabouts  immediately  say  to  ourselves,  "  What  Springfield 
man  Avill  have  that  place?"  And  when  it  goes  to  a  Springfield  man  it  is  but  just 
to  you  to  say  that  we  always  acquiesce  in  the  propriety  of  the  choice.  I  can  see 
at  this  table  at  least  two  of  your  distinguished  townsmen  on  whom  the  mark 
of  destiny  seems  already  to  be  set.  Hoav  fortunate  it  Avould  have  been  if  this 
anniversary  had  fallen  one  year  later,  AA'hen  you  probably  could  have  graced 
your  feast  with  a  lieutenant-governor  and  a  president  of  the  Senate  of  your  own 
production,  instead  of  having  to  fall  back  on  an  imported  article !  And  speaking 
of  imports  I  am  naturally  reminded  of  the  cloud,  no  larger,  indeed,  than  a  man's 
hand,  and  not  likely  to  be  larger,  the  only  cloud  that  dims  the  brilliancy  of  your 
prospects  to-day,  even  by  a  passing  shadow,  cast  by  the  late  refusal  of  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  to  allow  Springfield  the  empty  honors  and  scanty 
emoluments  of  a  port  of  delivery.  Don't  let  that  disturb  you.  Your  distinguished 
fellow-citizen,  the  district  attorney,  has  already  pointed  out  to  you  that  the  denial 
of  that  boon  is  really  a  blessing  in  disguise.  What  are  ports  of  delivery?  There 
are  hundreds  of  them,  some  hardly  known  even  by  name.  "  A  breath  can  make 
them,  as  a  breath  has  made."  But  there  is  only  one  Springfield.  This  splendid 
city,  with  all  its  wealth  of  character,  association,  and  material  prosperity,  is 
yours  still,  and  yours  it  will  remain,  while  ports  of  delivery  come  and  go  unheeded. 


596  SPRINGFIELD,  1636-1886. 


You  do  not  depend  on  the  favor  of  Presidents.  You  can  afford  to  laugh  at  a 
veto.  The  energy  and  enterprise  Avliich  have  made  Springfield  what  she  is 
to-day,  a  monument  of  New  England  prosperity  and  an  embodiment  of  the  New 
England  idea,  will  carry  her  on  unchecked  by  accidents  of  fortune  to  new 
achievements  and  new  glories  in  the  future,  and  the  congratulations  and  good 
wishes  of  the  whole  people  of  the  CommouAvealth  will  attend  her  ouAvard  march. 

Mr.  Lathrop.  —  The  Press.  —  To  respond  to  this  toast,  I  am  pleased  to  pre- 
sent a  gentlemen  who,  by  inheritance  and  by  instinct,  by  education  and  accom- 
plishment, most  fitly  illustrates  and  localizes  tliis  sentiment,  —  Mr.  Samuel 
Bowles. 

Mr.  Bowles. — Mr.  Toast-master  and  Gentlemen,  —  Eor  three  generations  my 
family  have  been  engaged  in  the  newspaper  business  in  Springfield,  and  there 
appears  to  be  some  danger  that  a  representative  of  the  fourth  generation  may 
grow  up  to  pursue  the  same  calling.  It  has  been  one  of  the  unwntten  but 
respected  rules  of  the  house  never  to  make  a  public  speech.  I  felt,  therefore, 
that  I  was  running  the  risk  of  a  hostile  encounter  Avith  the  shades  of  my  an- 
cestors in  accepting  the  invitation  of  the  banquet  committee  to  respond  to 
the  present  toast  this  evening.  But  the  call  so  stirred  my  pride  in  my  heritage 
and  my  profession,  that  I  could  not  decline  it. 

After  the  eloquent  exaltation  of  the  press  by  your  accomplished  toast-master, 
little  remains  to  be  said  in  its  behalf.  The  history  of  the  press  in  Springfield, 
it  may  be  claimed,  without  boasting,  is  a  highly  honorable  one ;  and  the  news- 
papers of  the  town  have  at  least  done  their  share  in  promoting  its  material 
groAvth  and  preserving  its  moral  heahh.  The  marvellous  development  in  the 
character  and  functions  of  our  local  journals,  that  has  taken  place  Avithin  the 
century  that  compasses  their  history,  has  been  confined  almost  entirely  to 
the  last  fifty  years,  the  period  during  Avhich  tlie  telegraph,  the  railroad,  and 
the  steamship  have  broken  doAvn  tlie  barriers  that  formerly  separated  toAvns  and 
States  and  continents,  and  brought  every  part  of  the  ciA'ilized  Avorld  into  quick 
communication  Avith  every  other  part.  During  this  time,  too,  there  has  gone  on 
a  wonderful  improvement  in  printing  machinery,  enabling  us  noAv  to  circulate 
the  neAvs  of  the  day  Avith  a  completeness  and  promptitude  tliat  a\  ould  have  been 
considered  magical  fifty  years  ago.  The  celebration  of  the  two  hundredth  anni- 
versary of  the  settlement  of  Springfield  occurred  on  a  AVednesday.  On  the 
folloAving  Saturday  the  local  papers  appeared  Avith  reports  of  the  event,  filling 
■only  three  or  four  columns  of  space,  and  consisting  largely  of  the  letters  from 
distinguished  men  read  at  the  public  dinner,  and  the  toasts  that  Avere  offered. 


SPRINGFIELD,    16S6-1S86.  597 

In  an  editorial  paragraph  the  enterprising  conductor  of  one  of  tlie  papers  said, 
"  We  think  we  shall  be  able  in  our  next  to  give  our  readers  the  entire  speeches 
of  his  Excellency,  of  the  Adjutant-General,  and  of  Colonel  Winthrop."  This 
would  be  ten  days  after  the  speeches  were  delivered.  Mark  the  difference  be- 
tween that  time  and  this !  To-day  our  daily  papers  can  hardly  Avait  for  the 
speeches  to  be  spoken,  or  events  to  happen,  before  they  are  offering  their  readers 
full  and  accurate  reports  of  what  has  been  said  or  what  has  occurred. 

A  number  of  the  foremost  citizens  of  Springfield  in  the  past  have  been  more 
or  less  intimately  associated  with  local  journalism,  and  become  a  part  of  its 
liistory.  AVllliam  B.  Calhoun,  v.ho  lionorably  represented  this  part  of  the  State 
in  Congress  at  the  time  of  our  two  hundredth  anniversary,  and  was  a  man  of  a 
high  order  of  ability,  contributed  liberally  to  the  editorial  columns  of  the  local 
press.  So,  less  frequently,  did  that  rare  companion  and  gifted  laAvyer,  George 
Ashmun,  whose  handsome  presence  especially  graced  occasions  like  this.  The 
brilliant  and  genial  William  StoAve,  Avhom  many  of  us  remember  with  pleasure, 
A\-as  a  regularly  employed  editor  of  one  of  the  local  journals.  Ex-Mayor  Will- 
iam L.  Smith,  also,  to  whose  good  taste  and  intelligent  management,  as  chair- 
man of  the  citizens'  committee,  the  success  of  this  celebration  is  so  largely 
due,  was  an  able  editor  in  his  younger  days,  and  would  have  responded  for  the 
profession  this  evening  but  for  his  frail  health.  That  admirable  and  useful  moral 
teacher,  Dr.  J.  G.  Holland,  Avas  another  Avorker  in  the  ranks  of  Avhom  the  fra- 
ternity in  Springfield  Avill  e\'er  feel  peculiarly  proud.  These  and  others  like 
them,  men  of  position,  of  poAver,  of  conscience,  and  character,  have  made  the 
press  of  Springfield  Avhat  it  is  to-day.  Let  us  hope  that  their  successors,  in  the 
present  and  coming  generations,  Avill  seek  to  emulate  their  virtues,  and  to  ad- 
minister Avorthily  the  larger  trust,  the  heavier  responsibility  which  the  oppor- 
tunities of  modern  journalism  lay  upon  them. 

Dr.  Thomas  R.  Pynchun,  of  Hiirtford,  Conn.,  responding  to  the 
toast  "The  first  three  mao-istrates  of  Springfield,"  said:  — 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  Springfield,  —  I  need  not  say  that  it  gives  me 
the  greatest  pleasure  to  be  present  on  this  occasion,  for  though  our  branch  of  the 
Pynchon  family  established  themselves  upon  the  beautiful  shores  of  Long  Island 
Sound  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty-eight  years  ago,  yet  Ave  haveahvays  regarded 
Springfield  as  the  ancient  home  of  our  race,  and  taken  the  deepest  interest  in 
its  prosperity.  Avelfare,  and  success,  and  it  is  Avith  feelings  of  no  ordinary  satis- 
faction that  I  rise  to  say  a  feAv  Avords  on  behalf  of  my  distinguished  ancestor 
and  his  faithful  friends,  and  attempt  to  justify  his  right  to  the  title  of  Worship- 


598  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


ful,  by  which  lie  is  generally  known  in  history.  In  order  to  do  this  I  must  take 
a  brief  survey  of  his  career,  for  his  life,  from  the  beginning  to  the  end,  was  a 
busy  and  eventful  one. 

At  this  time,  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  May  25,  1636,  he  was  only  fif- 
teen years  of  age,  having  been  born  at  Springfield,  in  Essex,  England,  in  1621. 
He  was,  therefore,  only  nine  years  old  when  he  was  brought  by  his  father  to 
America,  together  with  his  mother  and  his  three  sisters,  in  the  sMp  "Jewell,"  one 
Hurlston,  master,  in  company  with  the  other  vessels  of  the  fleet  that  bore  the 
Massachusetts  charter  to  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  About  ten  of  the  clock, 
Easter  Monday,  those  vessels  weighed  anchor  at  Cowes,  Isle  of  Wight,  and  on 
Monday,  the  14th  day  of  the  following  June,  they  cast  those  same  anchors  in  the 
inner  harbor  of  Salem,  in  Massachusetts.  In  the  course  of  a  very  few  days  they 
sailed  again  and  landed  their  company  at  the  confluence  of  two  rivers,  near  the 
bottom  of  Massachusetts  Bay.  Winthrop  planted  himself  at  Charlestown,  but 
Pynchon,  almost  immediately,  removed  to  Roxbury,  where  we  find  him  in  the 
early  part  of  July  of  the  same  year,  and  where  he  built  a  house,  beautifully 
situated  on  rising  ground  sloping  towards  the  east,  afterwards  sold  to  Governor 
Dudley  and  now  occupied  by  the  Universalist  church. 

Hence  the  worshipful  major,  being  now,  as  I  have  said,  about  nine  years  of 
age,  first  made  his  acquaintance  with  the  great  wilderness  and  with  the  copper- 
colored  savages,  in  whose  future  liistory  he  was  destined  to  play  such  an  im- 
portant part.  In  the  course  of  that  summer,  his  mother  dying,  he  passed  into 
the  care  of  his  sisters,  who  were  considerably  older  than  himself,  and  a  little 
later  into  the  hands  of  Mrs.  Frances  Sanford.  a  grave  matron  of  the  church  at 
Dorchester,  whom  his  father  married  within  a  year.  Of  early  schooling  the 
worsliipful  major  probably  had  not  much,  but  what  he  had,  no  doubt,  came  from 
Eev.  John  Eliot,  the  apostle  to  the  Indians,  who  arrived  from  England  in  1631, 
and  became  the  first  minister  of  Roxbury,  and  from  him  he  probably  acquired 
that  interest  in  the  Indians  and  that  knowledge  of  their  character  which  was  one 
of  his  leading  characteristics  during  the  whole  of  his  life. 

Two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  it  was  a  hurried  and  busy  time  in  that  house- 
hold at  the  foot  of  the  Rocksborough  clifPs.  On  the  22d  of  April  his  father  had 
returned  from  his  first  trip,  that  season,  to  the  Connecticut  river,  in  order  to  ex- 
pedite the  loading  of  the  -  Blessing  of  the  Bay,"  as  he  wrote  to  John  Winthrop,  Jr., 
at  Saybrook,  at  the  river's  mouth.  On  May  14  he  was  again  at  Springfield,  and  on 
July  4  was  back  once  more  at  Roxbury.  By  July  15  he  was  once  more  in  Spring- 
field, and  the  probability  is  that  it  was  between  these  last  two  dates  the  famiry 
was  moved,  and  that  somewhere  about  the  8th  or  9th  of  July  the  youthful  major, 
being,  as  I  have  said,  about  fifteen  years  of  age,  gained  his  first  sight  of  the  Con- 


SPRINGFIELD,    2  636-1 SS  6.  599 


necticut  river,  from  the  elevated  point  where  the  Bay  path  emerges,  upon  the  top 
of  the  hill  to  the  eastward  of  the  toAvn,  and  caught  his  first  glimpse  of  its  mag- 
nificent curves  as  it  sweeps  through  the  fields  of  LongmeadoAv,  and  that  he  pres- 
ently found  himself  established  in  the  little  wooden  house  that  had  been  built  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  family,  not  far  from  the  river's  bank,  and  close  by 
the  very  spot  on  Avhich  we  are  now  assembled.  Here,  no  doubt,  he  enjoyed  for 
schooHng  the  instructions  of  the  Kev.  George  Moxon,  and  in  his  out-of-door  life 
sailed  up  and  down  the  river  from  South  Hadley  Falls  to  Enfield,  and  assisted  in 
trapping  beaver  at  Woronoco  and  in  loading  his  father's  vessels  at  Warehouse 
Point,  and  daily  became  more  deeply  interested  in  the  dusky  men  who  constantly 
tlironged  his  father's  house ;  and,  no  doubt,  was  present  when  a  deputation  of  the 
Mohawks  from  the  great  river  on  the  other  side  of  the  western  mountains  waited 
upon  his  father  in  order  to  present  to  him  the  scalp  of  Sassacus,  the  great Pequod 
chief,  Avho  had  fled  to  them  for  safety,  and  which  by  him  was  carried  to  Gov- 
ernor Winthrop  on  his  next  visit  to  the  Bay,  together  with  his  bloody  hands. 
And  in  this  school  of  business  and  affairs  passed  aAvay  nine  more  years.  Then 
comes  his  marriage,  October  80.  1645,  to  Amy,  the  daughter  of  Gov.  George 
Wyllys,  of  Hartford,  and  the  owner  of  the  famous  Charter  Oak. 

Four  years  after,  in  1(350,  when  he  was  twenty-nine  years  of  age,  occurred  the 
publication  of  his  fathers  book,  "  The  Meritorious  Price  of  our  Redemption," 
and  two  years  later,  his  return  to  England.  Immediately  after  followed  his  own 
entrance  upon  civil  and  military  life,  as  chief  magistrate  of  the  settlement  and 
commander  of  the  troops.  Presently  came  the  preparations,  in  1658,  for  the 
erection  of  his  great  brick  house,  the  Fort.  During  all  this  period  prosperity 
flowed  steadily  in,  and  wealth  accumulated.  From  Enfield  and  Suffield  on  the 
south,  to  the  meadows  of  Deerfield  on  the  north,  most  of  the  land  was  purchased 
by  him,  or  through  him,  of  the  Indians,  and  nearly  all  subsequent  titles  are  from 
him  derived.  Nor  were  his  possessions  confined  to  the  Connecticut  river  valley, 
for  Ave  find  him  owning  land  in  the  Narragansett  country,  two  thousand  four 
hundred  acres,  between  the  Thames  and  Mystic  rivers,  to  the  east  of  New 
London. 

In  1662  occurred  his  father's  death,  and  the  year  folloAving  he  visited  England 
to  settle  the  estate.  In  1675  came  King  Philip's  War,  with  all  its  anxieties, 
fatigues,  and  horrors,  culminating  in  the  burning  of  his  settlement  in  October  of 
that  year.  In  1679  we  discover  him  assisting  officially,  as  one  of  the  assistants  of 
the  colony,  at  the  imposing  funeral  of  Governor  Leverett  in  Boston.  In  1680  we 
find  him  despatched  to  Albany  with  instructions  from  the  General  Court  to  get  the 
advice  and  assistance  of  the  Hon.  Sir  Edmund  Andros,  Governor  of  New  York,  to 
endeavor  a  treaty  with  the  Schems  and  people  called  Mohawks,  and  they  remind 


^0^  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


lum  of  his  former  visit  to  Albany,  and  their  meeting  him  some  four  years  before. 
No  doubt  in  both  journeys  he  followed  the  trail  up  the  Westfield  river  over  the 
mountains,  and  was  thus  the  pioneer  of  the  great  iron  road  that  now  follows  the 
same  route,  from  his  settlement  to  the  same  point. 

In  1659  began  his  legislative  career,  as  a  deputy  from  Springfield  to  the 
General  Court.  Erom  1665  to  1686,  when  the- government  under  the  old  charter 
came  to  an  end,  he  was  one  of  the  Assistants,  or  Upper  House.  In  1686  we  find 
him  named  by  the  Crown  as  one  of  the  Councillors  under  Sir  Edmund  Andros's 
government  of  all  New  England.  And  finally,  in  1703,  when  he  was  eighty-two 
years  of  age,  and  about  one  year  after  the  accession  of  Queen  Anne,  and  toward 
the  beginning  of  the  grand  career  of  the  great  Duke  of  Marlborough,  on  the 
17th  day  of  January,  he  died,  and  was  buried  with  great  pomp  a  few  davs  after- 
ward on  the  banks  of  the  Connecticut,  which  he  had  loved  so  well,  and,  as  it 
were,  under  the  shadow  of  Mt.  Tom.  The  Rev.  Solomon  Stoddard,  of  North- 
ampton, preached  the  sermon,  entitled  "  God's  power  shown  in  the  death  of  useful 
men."  He  describes  him  as  a  man  having  great  influence  abroad  asjvell  as  at 
home.     It  was  the  general  feeling  that  a  great  man  had  indeed  fallen  in  Israel. 

On  reviewing  his  career,  we  perceive  plainly  that  from  1650  to  1702,  a  period 
of  more  than  fifty  years,  he  was  constantly  engaged  in  public  affairs.  He  was 
lionorable,  and  had  great  influence  upon  men  of  authority  abroad.  This  is  Mr. 
Stoddard's  language,  and  he  could  not  have  had  such  a  career  if  he  had  not 
possessed  in  an  eminent  degree  those  qualities  which  always  command  the 
respect  of  mankind.  And  in  this  career  he  was  powerfullv  supported  by  his 
brother-in-law,  Elizur  Holyoke,  and  by  Samuel  Chapin,  whom  vou  have  very 
justly  associated  with  him  in  your  remarks,  and  who  was  possessed  of  similar 
sterling  qualities.  He  is  said  to  have  been  much  trusted  and  beloved  by  the 
Indians,  and  to  have  continued  the  wise  policy  of  treating  them  that  was  com- 
menced by  his  father.  Of  this  there  is  a  notable  proof  in  a  letter  from  Jonathan 
Edwards,  at  Stockbridge,  in  May,  1751,  in  which  he  says  "that  the  Mohawks 
desired  that  in  future  interviews  and  conferences.  Brigadier  Dwight  and  Colonel 
Pynchon  might  be  improved,  and  as  to  Colonel  Pynchon  in  particular,  they  urged 
their  acquaintance  with  his  ancestors,  and  their  experience  of  their  integrity." 
This  I  have  always  regarded  as  the  finest  compliment  ever  paid  to  the  family, 
and  its  highest  claim  to  distinction. 

The  Brigadier  Dwight  here  mentioned  was  the  celebrated  Gen.  Joseph 
Dwight,  who  commanded  at  Louisburg  and  Lake  George,'  the  ancestor  of  the 
Berkshire  Dwights  and  of  the  Sedgwicks,  and  the  brother  of  Col.  Josiah  Dwight, 
of  Springfield.  The  Colonel  Pynchon  must  have  been,  I  think,  my  great-great- 
grandfather, William  Pynchon,  who  married  for  liis  wife  Catharine  Brewer,  the 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  601 

daughter  of  one  of  your  early  ministers;  or  else  his  brother,  John  Pynchon,  who 
married  the  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Edward  Taylor,  of  AVestfield. 

My  conception  of  him  is,  that  he  was  a  wise,  sagacious,  sympathizing,  honor- 
able, high-minded,  religious,  and  friendly  man,  of  immense  capacity  for  business, 
a  brave  and  energetic  commander,  a  prudent  counsellor,  and  possessed  of  all  the 
qualities,  the  confidence,  the  affection,  and  love  of  men.  He  was,  I  think,  a 
very  different  man  from  his  father.  His  father  was  a  great  scholar  and  author, 
and  a  well-read  lawyer,  a  man  of  a  statesmanlike  mind,  a  man  who  could  conceive 
and  assist  in  executing  the  plan  of  bringing  the  charter  to  this  country,  and  of 
founding  a  new  State.  These  great  qualities  are  clearly  shown  in  his  Tetters  to 
Governor  Winthrop,  printed  in  the  transactions  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical 
Society.  The  son  was  possessed  of  the  administrative  qualities  necessary  to 
carry  on  a  government  that  had  been  already  founded. 

Thus,  my  fellow-townsmen,  I  have.  I  think,  shown  the  reasons  for  the  appli- 
cation to  my  distinguished  ancestor  of  the  title  of  Worsliipful ;  it  was  because 
he  possessed  in  an  eminent  degree  all  the  qualities  necessary  to  win  and  secure 
the  confidence  of  the  community.  He  was  a  man  to  whom  men  were  attracted 
by  his  gracious  qualities,  whom  they  were  inclined  to  revere,  to  Avorship,  as  it 
were.     Hence  he  was  styled  the  Worshipful  Major. 

Mayor  O'Connor,  of  Hol3^oke,  responding  for  his  city,  said  :  — 

The  "  infant  city"'  of  Holyoke,  which  I  have  the  honor  to  represent  to-night, 
is  proud  to  own  its  kinship  and  anxious,  I  am  sure,  to  show  proper  filial  respect 
and  affection  for  its  honored  and  venerable  parent,  on  this  and  all  other  occa- 
sions. Compared  Avith  Springfield,  with  its  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  hoary 
tradition,  Holyoke,  even  as  a  township,  has  barely  reached  the  period  of  young- 
manhood.  Reckoning  age  by  date  of  city  charters,  Springfield  may  be  said  to 
be  in  the  pride  of  manhood,  while  Holj'oke  is  but  a  stripling  of  twelve  tender 
years.  Originally  a  part  of  West  Springfield  (a  pasture  or  a  patch  on  the  out- 
skirts, so  to  speak),  Holyoke  can  properly  claim  to  be  a  child  of  Springfield  (its 
first-born  municipahty)  on  the  maternal  side,  perhaps,  and  Avith  equal  propriety 
can  trace  its  noble  lineage  on  the  paternal  side  to  the  broad  Connecticut  liver, 
whose  mighty  forces  have  been  transmitted  and  stand  revealed  to-day  in  no  mean 
proportion  in  their  joint  offspring.  Pardon,  then,  the  boastfulness  of  youth,  if, 
while  Ave  delight  to  honor  our  parents,  and  especially  our  beautiful  and  gifted 
mother,  Springfield,  Ave  use,  or  abuse,  this  occasion  to  remind  you  all  that  both 
■'  mother  and  child  are  doing  Avell,"  especially  the  ch^ld.  Holyoke,  I  knoAv, 
wishes  me  to  be  modest,  but  also  firm,   on  this  point. 


602  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


Although  not  yet  in  our  municipal  teens,  having  set  up  housekeeping  for  our- 
selves, we  gratefully  accept  the  maternal  hospitahty  and  extend  our  own.  Two 
hundred  and  thirty  odd  years,  however,  is  a  long  while  to  Avait  for  a  like  occasion 
to  present  itself  within  our  borders,  and  Holyoke,  therefore,  authorizes  me  to 
extend  the  open  hand  of  fellowship  to-night,  and  to  say  that  the  latch-string  is 
always  on  the  outside,  and  a  hearty  welcome  is  Avaiting  for  the  surplus  popula- 
tion and  capital  of  Springfield  Avithin  our  gates.  Already  we  proudly  number  a 
score  or  more  of  Springfield's  brightest  names  upon  the  roll  of  Holyoke's  suc- 
cessful business  men,  and  Ave  welcome  them  heartily,  even  though  they  prefer  to 
seek  the  suburban  quiet  and  repose  of  Springfield  after  the  cares  of  the  day  in 
Holyoke.  To  the  rising  generation  of  Springfield,  seeking  fresh  fields  and 
pastures  neA^  for  the  exercise  of  their  inherent  energy  and  enterprise,  Ave  extend 
a  special  invitation  to  join  their  fortune  Avith  ours,  and  reap  Avith  us  the  golden 
harvest  of  Holyoke's  future.  But  this  is  a  family  party,  and  perhaps  Ave  have 
already  spent  too  much  time  in  admiring  and  praising  the  baby. 

Let  me,  in  closing,  add  a  personal  tribute  .to  the  liome  of  my  childhood. 
Some  one  has  said  "  that  a  recollection  of  old  scenes  and  pastimes  we  often  con- 
sider among  the  happiest  moments  of  our  Kves."  Brought  liere  from  my  birth- 
place among  the  Berkshire  hills,  a  child,  educated  in  your  schools,  and  entering 
my  profession  under  the  guidance  and  patronage  of  the  noAv  venerable  Dr. 
Breck,  I  feel,  and  ahvays  shall  feel  Avhile  memory  lasts,  a  warm  afPection  for 
Springfield  and  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  her  institutions,  and  I  am  proud  of  her 
record  as  the  pioneer  and  preceptor  of  Avestern  Massachusetts  in  all  that  makes 
for  ciAdlization,  education,  and  the  progress  of  the  human  race.  In  the  name  of 
Holyoke,  and  for  myself  also,  then,  I  greet  you,  I  thank  you,  and  congratulate 
you  upon  the  record  you  have  made  as  a  representative  New  England  city,  and 
as  an  honor  to  the  grand  old  CommouAveahh  of  Massachusetts. 

David  A.  Wells  responded  to  the  toast  "  Springfield  —  The  flavor 
of  old  times  makes  fresh  and  sweet  the  new,"  and  said :  — 

Kemembering  the  Scriptural  proverb,  "  A  prophet  is  not  Avithout  honor  save  in 
his  OAvn  country,"  I  could  not  help  feeling  greatly  compHmented  at  receiving  an 
official  invitation  to  return  to  the  place  of  my  birth  and  participate  in  this  memo- 
rable anniversary.  Letting  my  memory  run  back  also,  some  forty  years  or  more, 
and  recalling  "how  once  upon  a  time"  Elijah  Blake— Avho  Avas  at  that  period 
pretty  much  all  that  the  "  Lord  High  Executioner,"  "  The  Lord  Chief  Justice," 
"  The  Lord  Chancellor,"  "  The  Minster  of  Finance,"  and  the  "  Chief  of  Police  " 
ever  avus  to  "  Titipu"  in  the  kingdom  of  the  Mikado  — fixed  his  eyes  sternly  on 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-2SS6.  603 

one  of  the  back  seats  at  a  public  meeting  in  the  old  Town  Ilall  on  State  street, 
and  audibly  remarked,  "If  that  Wells  boy  and  those  other  fellows  don't  make 
less  noise  and  disturbance  they  will  be  put  out,"— those  other  fellows  being 
William  L.  Wilcox  and  Albert  Kirkham,  now  "  grave  and  reverend  seniors,"  and 
the  late  Charles  0.  Chapin  of  honored  memory,  llecaljing  all  this,  I  could  have 
little  thought  that  the  time  would  ever  come  when  the  successors  in  authority 
upon  whom  the  mantle  of  Elijah  has  fallen  would  ever  wish  that  the  "  AVells 
boy  "  AN'Ould  come  back  again.  From  which,  I  think,  I  have  the  right  to  infer 
that  if  I  have  made  any  noise  or  disturbance  since  then  it  has  not  been,  as 
formerly,  altogether  of  a  disagreeable  character. 

I  do  not  know  that  it  has  ever  occurred  to  any  one  to  make  an  analysis  of  the 
motives  that  are  influential  in  drawing  one  back  to  the  home  of  his  childhood. 
At  first  thought  it  may  seem  that  such  tendencies  are  the  outcome  of  an  instinct, 
born  and  inbred  in  everyone;  something  akin  to  love  of  country.  A  little 
examination,  however,  will,  I  think,  lead  to  opposite  conclusions.  And  in  sup- 
port of  this  view,  I  would  mention  that  a  question  recently  put  to  a  gentleman 
who  emigrated  from  this  vicinity  elicited  the  following  reply:  "I  was  born  in 
such  a  place,"  naming  a  town  not  forty  miles  distant  from  Springfield;  "and 
it  is  the  only  thing  in  my  life  that  I  feel  particularly  ashamed  of."  I  have  never 
visited  that  place ;  but  from  what  I  used  to  hear  of  it,  I  should  think  the  native 
referred  to  might  have  had  some  good  and  sulficient  warrant  for  his  opinion. 
Again,  I  sat  some  years  ago  at  dinner  beside  one  of  the  merchant  princes  of  New 
York,  a  man  whose  name  is  well  known  in  commercial  circles  and  in  public 
affairs.  He  informed  me  that  he  was  born  in  a  little  town  in  New  York,  just 
over  the  Berkshire  or  Massachusetts  line ;  that  he  had  only  been  back  to  it  since 
he  left  to  bury  his  father  and  mother,  and  that  "he  never  meant,"  if  he  could 
help  it,  to  go  back  again.  Further  conversation  disclosed  the  fact  that  his  father 
was  a  farmer,  the  owner  and  cultivator  of  one  of  those  sterile  side-hill  farms  of 
that  section  of  country ;  a  man  Avhose  fundamental  idea  of  life  was  work  and 
religion,  as  he  understood  it,  —  to  work  unremittingly  during  all  the  hours  of 
daylight;  and  to  meet  any  demands  of  human  nature  for  diversity  and  recreation 
by  attending  meetings,  and  the  study  of  the  Assembly's  catechism  or  such 
other  literature  as  made  up  the  scant  libraries  in  those  days  of  the  supporters  of 
old-time  New  England  Calvinism,  —  among  which  he  remembered  was  a  well- 
thumbed  sermon  preached  by  the  father  of  David  Dudley  and  Cyrus  Field,  at  a 
public  execution,  in  which  the  culprit  was  advised  that  although  he  had  been 
a  very  bad  f ello\\ ,  and  A\as  still  impenitent,  there  was  ample  time  for  conversion 
and  a  change  of  heart  between  leaving  the  church  and  reaching  the  gallows.  It 
was  no  wonder,  then,  that  my  friend,  under  the  circumstances,  bought  his  own 


604  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


time  — as  was  then  customary,  before  coming  of  age  — of  Ms  father,  and  emi- 
grated ;  and  that  the  town  where  he  was  born  never  left  upon  his  memory  suffi- 
ciently agreeable  impressions  to  have  yet  received  from  his  present  accumulated 
millions  anything  commemorative  of  his  childliood,  and  in  furtlierance  of  the 
interests  of  its  present  inhabitants,  or  is  probably  ever  likely  to  be  thus  remem- 
bered. Therefore,  I  conclude  that  there  must  be  something  more  than  the  mere 
fact  of  having  been  born  in  a  certain  locality  that  constitutes  the  attraction  in 
later  life  to  those  who  have  been  long  absent  to  return  to  it;  and  that  it  is 
necessary,  in  order  that  such  attraction  may  be  powerful,  that  the  impressions 
of  early  life,  whicli  are  so  strong  that  old  men  babl)le  of  them  when  all  other 
memories  have  departed,  should  have  been  pleasant.  And  so  far  as  Springfield 
is  concerned,  I  think  I  can  truly  say,  not  only  for  myself,  but  for  all  other  of  its 
children  who  have  wandered  from  the  old  home,  that  the  early  impressions 
received  here  were  always  most  pleasant. 

Nowhere  among  all  the  towns  of  New  England  did  the  current  of  life  run 
more  sweetly  and  quietly  than  here.  How  vividly  can  I  reproduce-the  former 
picture  of  localities  !  On  the  spot  where  we  are  now  gathered  stood  the  family 
home,  embowered  among  great  trees,  of  the  Hookers,  —  judges,  legislators, 
deacons,  and  town  councillors.  Next  below  was  the  great  gambrel-roof  parson- 
age of  the  First  Church  in  Springfield.  Where  the  railroad  station  is,  grew  some 
of  the  earliest  and  sweetest  apples,— sweeter  if  they  could  be  gathered  without  the 
privity  of  their  owner,  the  Widow  Hubbard.  Where  the  railroad  bridge  crosses, 
was  one  of  the  most  famous  of  shad  fisheries.  Across  the  street,  but  lower 
down,  ran,  as  I  think  it  yet  does,  the  "  town  brook,"  once  sufficiently  pure  to  be 
so  stocked  ^y\t\^  trout  as  to  admit  of  their  being  caught  Avitli  a  scoop.  Across  the 
square  rose,  as  now,  the  steeple  of  Dr.  Osgood's  church,  which,  to  my  childish 
imaginings,  seemed  something  akin  in  height  to  the  tower  of  Babel ;  and  upon  the 
top  of  its  spire  still  sits  that  wonderful  rooster  which,  as  all  children  were  in- 
formed, always  crowed  whenever  he  heard  the  other  roosters. 

How  little  then  occurred  to  break  the  current  uniformity  :  the  publication  of 
the  "  Weekly  Kepublican ;  "  the  annual  town-meeting,  which  seemed  always  to 
occur  when  the  weather  was  most  unpleasant  and  the  roads  the  muddiest,  to  the 
inconvenience  of  the  multitude,  who  came  up  as  the  tribes  of  old  to  Jerusalem, 
from  Cabotville,  Chicopee,  or  Skipmuck,  "  Jenksville,"  "  Sixteen  Acres,"  Long 
Hill,  and  the  Water-shops  ;  the  tolling  of  the  "  passing  bell,"  to  indicate  that  some 
one  of  the  little  community  had  joined  the  great  congregation;  the  annual  train- 
ing of  the  Hampden  Guards  and  the  Springfield  Artillery  ;  the  occasional  show ; 
tlie  winter's  lyceum ;  the  arrival  and  departure  of  the  good  steamers  "  Agawam  ' 
or  -  Massachusetts,"  Peck,  master ;  or  the  departure  before  daylight,  or  the  arrival 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  605 


after  dark,  of  the  Boston  and  Albany  coaches,  Avhose  head-quarters  were  at  the 
Hampden  Coffee  House.  Good  society  in  those  days  breakfasted  between  six 
and  seven,  dined  at  twelve,  and  supped  at  six.  Most  people,  also,  were  then  of 
the  opinion  that  night  was  the  time  to  sleep;  and,  lest  somebody  should  forget  it, 
the  church  bell  was  rung  regularly  at  nine  o'clock,  when  it  was  expected  that  fires 
would  be  raked  up  and  courting  be  discontinued.  Few  of  the  citizens  had  trav- 
elled farther  than  to  New  York  or  Boston ;  and  as  for  the  one  or  two  who  had 
made  the  journey  to  Europe,  it  was  thought  that  there  Avas  little  more  remaining 
for  them,  except  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  How  incidents  that  are  regarded  as 
now  of  little  moment  swelled  to  great  importance  in  those  earlier  days  is  well 
illustrated  by  the  circumstance  that  the  completion,  in  1805,  of  the  great  bridge 
across  the  river,  at  the  foot  of  what  was  then  "  Bridge  lane,"  was  considered  of 
sufficient  moment  to  require  the  preaching  and  printing  of  a  sermon,  by  one  of 
the  most  noted  of  New  England  divines,  namely,  Rev.  Joseph  Lathrop,  D.D., 
pastor  of  the  First  Church  in  West  Springfield.  And  from  a  copy  of  this  now 
rare  sermon  which  has  come  into  my  possession  let  me  read  you  a  brief  extract : 
"  Who  among  us,  twenty  years  ago.  expected  to  see  the  two  banks  of  the  Con- 
necticut river  united  at  Springfield  by  a  bridge  which  should  promise  durability? 
Yet  such  a  structure  we  see,  this  day,  completed  and  opened  for  passage, —  a 
structure  which  displays  the  wealth  and  enterprise  of  the  proprietors,  and  tlie 
skill  and  fidelity  of  the  artificers,  and  which  will  yield  great  convenience  and 
advantage  to  the  contiguous  and  neighboring  towns,  and  to  the  public  at  large. 
In  a  work  of  this  kind  there  is  the  same  reason  to  acknowledge  the  favoring  and 
preserving  hand  of  God,  as  in  all  other  enterprises,  and  more  in  proportion  to  its 
complexity,  difficulty,  and  magnitude.  The  structure  which  we  this  day  behold 
suggests  to  us  a  most  convincing  evidence  of  the  existence  and  government  of 
a  deity ;  and  also  of  the  importance  of  civil  society  and  of  a  firm  and  steady 
government." 

It  is  noAv  the  opinion  of  those  most  qualified  to  speak  that  there  is  hardly  a 
single  department  of  history,  ancient  or  modern,  that  does  not  require  to  be 
reinvestigated  and  rewritten.  But  be  that  as  it  may,  the  inner,  domestic,  and 
social  life  of  the  people  of  New  England  has  certainly  never  yet  been  fully 
explored  and  written;  and  it  constitutes  a  most  promising  and  inviting  field, 
not  only  for  the  historian,  but  also  for  the  novelist.  Mrs.  Stowe  has  worked  this 
mine  somewhat  in  her  "Sam  Lawson"  and  •' Oldtown  Stories,"  and  in  the 
romance  of  "  The  Minister's  Wooing,"  as  has  also  Rose  Terry  Cooke  in  "  Mrs. 
Beulah's  Bonnet"  and  "  Squire  Paine's  Conversion;"  and  in  all  literature  there 
is  no  story  clothed  in  purer  English,  richer  in  word  painting,  or  more  ingenious 
and  delicious  in  plot,  than  "  Twice  Married."  written  by  Calvin  Philleo,  of  Suf- 


606 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


field,  who  died  Avlien  the  guild  of  literature  had  hardly  made  his  acquaintance 
and  who  gave  promise,  if  he  had  lived,  of  developing  into  one  of  America's 
greatest  masters  of   fiction. 

What  a  wealth  of  character,   material,  and  incident  is  embraced  within  the 
memories  of  Springfield  during  the  fifty  years  or  more  prior  to  the  advent  of  the 
railroads !     Stephen  Burroughs,  the  rogue,  whose  memoirs,  with  "  Kiley's  Nar- 
rative,"  were  read  with  wonderment  by  more  than  one  generation  of  this  vallev. 
Thomas  Blanchard,  the  inventor,  who  built  the  steamboat  "  Massachusetts  "  on 
a  lot  on  South  Main  street,  and  then  drew  it  on  massive  solid  wheels,  with  long 
yokes  of  oxen,  amidst  a  wondering  crowd,  to  its  launching-place,  at  the  foot  of 
Elm  street;  and  A^^ho,  stimulated  by  a  taunt  of  an  armorer  engaged  in  carving 
gun-stocks  -that  he  could  not  spoil  his  business,"  invented  that  most  A^^onder- 
ful  machine  for  turning  irregular  forms,  including  such  an  irregular  thing  as  a 
gun-stock.     Elijah  Blake,  the  terror  of  evil-doers,  who  seems  to  have  extended 
his    life   to    some  fourscore  years    or    more    by   becoming  transfused  with  the 
toughness  and  strength  of  his  own  leather;   Uncle  Bill  Cooley,  the^ld  sexton, 
who  gathered  in  nearly  two  entire  generations  before  he  himself  was  gathered! 
William  Ames,  son  of  Fisher  Ames,  who  for  many  years  made  two  visitations  to 
the  town  annually,  and  timed  his  visits   so  coincidently  with  the  arrival  of  shad 
and  the  celebration  of  Thanksgiving,  that  not  a  few  people,  it  is  said,  remained 
doubtful  as  to  the  exact  time  of  these  events  until  the  presence  of  Mr.   Ames 
in  town  was  known  to  be  a  certainty.     Captain  Peck,  the   hardy  navigator,  who 
for  many  a  season  breasted  the    storm  of  the  Connecticut,   and  safely  guided 
his  craft  over  the  rocks  and  terrors  of  "Enfield  Rapids."     Eleazar  Williams, 
the  once  prince  of  inn-keepers,  who  was  so  famed  for  his  politeness  to  all,  and 
his  special  courtesy  to  ladies,  that  it  is  said  of  him  that  once  upon  a  time,  com- 
ing unexpectedly  upon  a  setting  hen  and  perceiving  her  to  be  disturbed  by  his 
intrusion,  he  took  off  his  hat  gracefully,  and  bowing  respectfully,  speedily  re- 
tired with  the  remark,   "Don't  rise,  madam,  —  don't,  I  pray  you."     And  last, 
but  not  least,  that  grand  old  man.   Rev.    Samuel  Osgood,  D.D.,  to  whom  Gold- 
smith's lines  to  a  country  clergyman  are  fairly  applicable,  — 

Remote  from  towns,  he  rau  his  godly  race, 

Xor  e'er  had  changed  nor  wished  to  change  his  place. 

New  England  never  produced  a  more  original  cliaracter,  more  fertile  in  wit, 
more  keen  in  repartee.  One  anecdote  illustrative  of  the  latter  quality,  which  I 
will  venture  to  relate,  and  which  I  think  has  never  found  its  way  into  print,  was 
told  me  by  the  late  Gen.  Dan  Tyler.     The  general,  when  fresh  from  West  Point 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  607 

was  ordered  in  company  with  two  or  three  other  young  officers  to  Springfield,  in 
connection  with  the  armory,  and  to  help  pass  the  time  pleasantly,  a  sort  of 
social  club  was  organized,  and  a  meeting  and  reading  room  rented  and  fur- 
nished, on  the  same  entry  with  the  post-office,  which  Avas  then  kept  by  Daniel 
Lombard,  in  a  little  wooden  building  on  State  street.  At  this  club  Dr.  Osgood 
was  a  frequent  visitor  and  always  a  welcome  guest ;  and  on  entermg  one  day 
and  asking  the  news,  he  was  informed  of  a  new  engagement  of  a  certain  young 
and  buxom  damsel,  the  daughter  of  one  of  the  first  families,  with  an  elderly 
bachelor,  who  was  also  one  of  the  Avealthiest  and  most  distinguished  citizens  of 
the  town.  "  Well,  doctor,  what  do  you  think  of  it?  "  Avas  asked.  "  Think  of  it?  " 
he  replied.  "  I  think  there  is  a  good  deal  of  money  got  by  marriage  that  better 
be  hired  at  6  per  cent."  The  doctor  was  probably  also  the  originator  of  the  old 
story,  Avhich  runs  to  the  effect  that,  visiting  a  sick  man,  and  admonishing  him 
upon  the  necessity  of  a  change  of  heart,  he  Avas  interrupted  by  the  rejoinder 
from  the  patient,  "  I  don"t  think  you  understand  my  case  at  all,  doctor.  It  isn't 
a  neAv  heart  that  I  Avant,  but  a  ucav  liver." 

Eev.  Dr.  Sprague,  Avho  Avas  for  a  time  settled  in  West  Springfield,  Avas  a  man 
of  great  culture  and  refinement,  and  especially  observant  of  all  the  '•  proprieties" 
of  his  profession.  Engaged  to  supply  the  pulpit  of  Dr.  Osgood  on  one  occasion, 
the  latter  announced  him  to  his  congregation  as  folloAvs  :  "On  the  morning  of 
the  next  Sabbath  Brother  Sprague  Avill  occupy  my  place,  and  blow  from  the 
silver  trumpet  of  the  Ncav  Testament,  but  in  the  afternoon  I  shall  be  present  and 
Avill  give  you  the  ram's  horn  of  the  Old."  And  then  if  it  is  the  more  comic,  as 
Avell  as  the  poetical  side  of  human  nature  that  is  to  be  sought,  Avhat  can  be  more 
originally  ludicrous  than  the  famous  poem,  or  elegy,  of  "  Springfield  Mountain," 
Avhich  has  almost  become  a  classic  in  English  literature,  and  Avithout  a  sufficiently 
proper  notice  of  Avhich  any  historical  revicAv  of  Springfield  Avould,  it  seems  to  me, 
be  manifestly  most  incomplete.  This  elegy  Avas  Avritten  by  one  Nathan  Torrey,  a 
citizen,  at  the  time,  of  Springfield,  about  the  year  1761,  in  commemoration  of  a 
tragic  occurrence  that  caused  a  great  local  sensation  at  the  time,  namely,  the 
death,  from  the  bite  of  a  rattlesnake,  of  the  son  of  Lieutenant  Mirrick,  Avho  resided 
in  that  part  of  the  town  which  Avas  then  known  as  "  Springfield  Mountain,"  and 
Avhich  Avas  afterward  incorporated  as  a  toAvn  by  itself,  under  the  name  of  "  Wil- 
braham,"  —  a  name  in  some  Avay  undoubtedly  derived  from  an  old  English  family 
by  the  name  of  Wilbraham,  Avhose  ancestral  records  and  sculptured  memorials 
are  still  preserved  in  an  old  church  at  Chirk,  in  Herefordshire,  on  the  borders  of 
Wales. 

Nathan  Torrey  A\as  an  odd  genius,  and  removed  to  Hinsdale,  Berkshire  county, 
about  the  tiine  of  tlie  Revolution,  and  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  settler  of  that 


608  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


town.  When  the  steeple  of  the  Congregational  Church  in  Dalton  Avas  raised,  the 
parson,  it  is  said,  called  upon  Torrey  for  some  poetry  suitable  for  the  occasion. 
He  agreed  to  so  do,  and  at  the  proper  time  took  his  stand  before  the  audience, 
looked  up  at  the  steeple,  then  at  the  minister,  and  next  at  the  people,  and  gave 
utterance  to  the  following  :  — 

Little  church,  tall  steeple, 
Blind  guide,  ignorant  people. 

As  the  newspaper  reporter  Avas  not  round  in  those  days,  Ave  have  no  knowl- 
edge of  Avhat  happened  next ;  but  we  can  imagine  what  the  ministers  and  the 
people  thought,  and,  perhaps,  of  what  they  said.  But  I  fear  I  have  exhausted 
your  patience  and  left  myself  but  little  time  to  speak  of  my  boyhood  associates. 
Springfield  has  many  distinguished  names  on  the  roll  of  her  sons.  But  the  num- 
ber of  boys  who  have  notably  made  their  mark  from  the  comparatively  small 
class  of  my  school  associates  is,  T  think,  someAvhat  remarkable,  ^avo  Avere 
successful  sailors,  and  walked  the  quarter-deck  as  captains  of  as  noble  vessels 
as  ever  flew  the  American  flag.  Four  became  general  or  field  officers  in  the  War 
of  the  Eebellion,  and  two  fell  on  the  field  of  battle  at  the  head  of  their  columns. 
One  AA^as  avowedly  at  the  head  of  the  editorial  profession  of  the  country. 
Three  have  risen  to  the  front  rank  of  the  legal  profession  in  the  cities  of  New 
York,  St.  Louis,  and  San  Francisco.  Two  now  stand  at  the  head  of  Ngav  Eng- 
land's greatest  railroad  corporation,  while  another  is  at  the  head  of  Massachu- 
setts' railroad  commission ;  tAvo  have  become  successful  merchants  in  the  Cen- 
tral West  and  on  the  Pacific ;  and  of  the  names  of  those  who  have  remained  at 
the  old  home,  if  they  are  not  Avidely  known,  it  is  simply  because  to  them  the 
opportunity  to  become  distinguished  has  been  more  limited. 

To  be  present  upon  such  an  occasion  as  this  cannot,  however,  be  a  Avholly  un- 
mixed joy  to  the  sons  of  Springfield,  who  return  to  her  after  long  absences,  and 
the  words  of  Rev.  Dr.  Peabody,  in  his  address  at  the  dedication  of  the  Spring- 
field Cemetery  in  1841,  come  back  to  me  noAv  AA^ith  a  fulness  of  meaning  Avhich 
they  did  not  convey  when  I  heard  them  delivered  :  — 

''  When  the  native  of  this  town,  after  long  absence,  returns  to  the  home  of  his 
fathers,  he  Avill  walk  the  streets,  and  all  whom  he  meets  will  be  strangers.  He 
Avill  inquire  concerning  familiar  dwellings,  and  the  names  of  their  inhabitants 
will  be  ncAv ;  and  Avhen  he  meets  his  old  acquaintances  he  Avill  find  that  they  know 
not  the  Joseph  of  former  days.  He  Avill  be  forlorn  and  solitary  among  the  living, 
and  will  not  feel  at  home  till  he  comes  to  the  mansions  of  the  dead.  Here  he 
Avill  find  the   guardians   and  the   playmates  of  former  years.     Here  will  be  all 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  609 

whom  he  used  to  reverence  and  love ;  and    here  the   heart  will  overflow  with 
emotions." 

Gen.  H.  C.  Dwight,  of  Hartford,  said  :  — 

I  regret  exceedingly  that  our  honored  Governor  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Con- 
necticut is  not  present  to  respond  to  your  very  complimentary  toast  to  Connecti- 
cut, the  State  he  honors,  serves,  and  loves  so  well.  In  his  name  and  for  this  old 
CommouAvealth  I  thank  you  for  your  cordial  greeting,  your  neighborly  interest, 
and  kindly  good-will.  Connecticut  heartily  reciprocates  them  all,  and  congrat- 
ulates the  ancient  town  of  Springfield,  on  this  her  anniversary  day,  on  her 
prosperity  and  success ;  on  what  your  city  represents  to-day,  —  enterprise, 
energy,  happiness,  and  wealth,  —  one  of  the  many  pleasant,  bright,  prosperous 
cities  of  our  sister  CommouAvealtli  of  Massachusetts. 

Connecticut  has  now  in  her  borders  some  of  your  former  territory,  and  though 
not  naturally  covetous,  'tis  a  pity  when  the  line  was  drawn  including  Enfield, 
Somers,  and  Suffleld  in  Connecticut,  it  was  not  put  far  enough  north  to  have 
included  your  Avhole  town.  In  fact,  we  could  include  the  whole  of  Massachu- 
setts, so  kind  is  our  regard  and  so  great  our  love  for  you. 

The  same  spirit  was  in  your  founders  as  in  those  of  our  beloved  State,  — the 
spirit  of  liberty,  of  government  by  the  people,  of  freedom  of  worship,  of  free 
education,  animated  them,  and  the  same  spirit  actuates  them  to-day.  The  people 
of  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  have  the  same  characteristics, — those  of  energy, 
industry,  frugality,  generosity,  and  inventive  genius.  The  hum  of  their  industries 
is  heard,  the  products  of  their  skill  are  known  around  the  Avorld.  In  war  both 
have  proved  their  valor  through  these  two  hundred  and  fifty  years.  In  peace 
both  have  gone  hand  in  hand  to  the  highest  success ;  no  bickering  nor  enmity  has 
been  known,  but  as  neighbors  we  have  both  gloried  in  the  success  of  the  other. 
The  white  flag  of  Massachusetts  and  the  blue  flag  of  Connecticut  are  both  com- 
bined in  the  flag  of  our  glorious,  united  country,  each  star  shining  as  brilliantly 
as  when  first  placed  in  the  flag  of  our  Union;  and  so  may  they  shine,  made  more 
and  more  brilliant  by  the  honor  and  righteousness  of  their  people  till  the  "  perfect 
day."  The  town  and  city  of  Springfield  may  Avell  and  gladly  welcome  home  her 
children,  wherever  they  may  be.  Happy  those  who  have  never  wandered  from 
her  pleasant  firesides ;  happy  those  who  have  so  plea;sant  a  home  to  return  to,  Avel- 
comed  by  a  happy,  prosperous  people,  who  have  worked  for,  deserved,  and 
earned  success.  We  of  Connecticut  come  with  good  wishes,  and  strong,  hearty 
desire  for  your  continued  prosperity  and  success.  May  your  future  be  in  Avays 
of  pleasantness !     As  in  the  past  two  hundred  and  fifty  years,  so  in  the  future 


610  SPRIXGFIELD,    1636-1S86. 

times.  Ave  promise  to  be  good  neighbors,  active,  earnest  workers  with  you  for 
tlio  i^rosperity  of  the  State  and  nation,  joining  with  you  in  every  good  word  and 
work. 

United  States  Senator  Dawes  said  :  — 

Mr.  Chairtnan  and  Gentlemen,  —  First  let  me  thank  you  for  this  kind  manifes- 
tation, and  say  that  I  am  quite  aware,  at  this  festival  of  the  sons  of  Springfield, 
that  the  time  belongs  to  others,  and  not  to  me.  I  would  be  quite  content  to  yield 
it  all  to  those  Avho  have  so  many  pleasant,  friendly  memories  to  recount  to  de- 
light and  charm  you.  I  know  it  becomes  me  to  make  acknowledgment  of  this 
toast  in  tlie  briefest  possible  manner:  but  before  I  do  that,  j'ou  Avill  pardon  me, 
even  at  this  late  hour,  if  I  make  my  bow  to  the  city  of  Springfield.  She  has 
Avon  my  heart  to-day,  and  I  am  quite  impatient  to  make  avowal  of  the  attach- 
ment. I  have  been  captivated  by  tlie  regal  splendor  Avitli  Avhicli  she  has  come 
forth  to  receive  our  congratulations  upon  this  most  distinguished  of  all  her  birth- 
day's, decorated  and  blushing  like  a  bride,  and  yet  as  stately  and  dignified  as  a 
matron,  swelling  Avith  pride  as  her  children  gatlier  around  her  Avith  their  offer- 
ings. She  receives  our  offerings,  she  receives  our  congratulations,  and  acknoAvl- 
edges  the  compliments  Ave  pay  her  Avitli  becoming  grace  and  dignity.  Increasing 
years,  as  has  been  said  so  many  times  to-day,  have  not  brought  to  her  decrepitude 
or  decay,  but  perennial  youth  and  beauty  adorn  her  broAv.  The  mother  of  a 
grand  array  of  toAvns  and  cities  Avhich  have  sprung  up  along  this  beautiful  valley, 
she  is  yet  the  youngest  of  them  all  (applause),  "the  fairest  of  her  daughters 
since  born."  Could  the  cities  of  Ncav  York  and  Boston  have  seen  her  to-day  in 
her  glory,  they  Avould  have  been  ashamed  of  that  petty  jealousy  and  rivalry  to 
prevent  her  being  a  port  of  delivery  for  foreign  commerce.  But  they  fight 
against  the  stars,  and  their  discomfiture,  as  Avell  as  her  triumph,  is  certain  in  the 
near  future.  This  spectacle  Avhich  Ave  have  Avitnessed  to-day  could  have  been 
Avitnessed  noAvhere  else  but  in  this  country,  and  under  no  other  government  but 
ours ;  for  noAvhere  else  could  those  elements  of  Massachusetts'  groAvth,  Avhich 
made  her  successful  as  the  founder  of  toAvns  and  of  States,  have  had  free  scope 
and  development. 

I  should  have  been  glad,  Mr.  President,  to  have  spoken  of  the  place  and 
functions  of  the  United  States  Senate  in  that  government,  liad  you  not  reminded 
me  before  I  got  up  that  there  Avould  not  be  any  time  to  say  much  of  anything  to 
you  on  the  toast  to  Avhich  I  Avas  called  to  speak.  But,  sir,  if  I  cannot  say  any- 
thing more,  there  is  some  satisfaction  in  saying  that  the  United  States  Senate 
needs   no  defence  or  encomiums  from  me.     It  Avas  placed  in  the  Constitution  of 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1S86.  611 

the  United  States  to  protect  the  smaller  States  from  the  encroachments  of  the 
larger  ones.  It  is  the  bulwark  of  the  smaller  States  in  the  midst  of  those  greater 
and  more  numerous,  Avithout  which  the  uncontrolled  members  would  submerge 
and  swallow  them  up ;  and  so  important  its  provisions  of  equality  of  vote  among 
the  States,  guaranteed  in  the  Senate,  appeared  to  the  founders  of  our  institutions, 
that  they  so  built  it  into  the  Constitution  that  it  cannot  be  taken  out  by  any 
amendment,  as  every  other  provision  of  that  Constitution  can  be.  Massachu- 
setts holds  the  guaranty  of  her  equality  in  the  Senate  by  title  absolutely  inde- 
structible as  long  as  the  government  endures.  It  can  be  Avrested  from  her  only 
by  revolution,  or  by  revolutionary  surrender.  In  that  body  Massachusetts  has 
had  in  the  past  representation  always  worthy  of  her  great  name,  and  the  high 
commission  with  which  she  has  intrusted  that  representation.  After  the  two 
great  names  of  Webster  and  Sumner,  the  illustrious  in  history,  the  old  county 
of  Hampshire  of  blessed  memory  —  alas  that  it  was  ever  divided  I  —  stands  forth 
in  the  front  rank  with  the  names  she  has  furnished  to  that  representation. 
Caleb  Strong,  one  of  the  first  senators  for  Massaclmsetts,  stern,  stubborn,  in- 
corruptible, and  patriotic ;  Ashmun,  a  name  illustrious  in  both  houses  of  Con- 
gress and  at  the  bar  of  the  Commonwealth ;  Mills,  the  scholar,  the  statesman,  and 
orator  of  a  listening  and  charmed  Senate ;  Isaac  C.  Bates,  whose  voice  rang 
in  my  ear  like  a  silver  trumpet  the  first  time  when  a  boy  I  entered  the  court- 
house at  Northampton,  and  whose  mantle  is  now  worn  so  gracefully  and  so 
worthily  by  a  descendant  of  the  same  stock  in  your  neighboring  town.  These 
Avere  the  "  River  Gods"  of  their  day  (applause),  and  to  these  illustrious  names 
the  old  county  of  Hampshire  may  point  her  present  and  future  generations  for 
ensample  and  for  emulation. 

Railroad  Commissioner  Kinsley  said  :  — 

3Ir.  President  and  Gentlemen, — It  was  always  my  luck  when  a  boy  in  Spring- 
field to  be  put  at  the  tail-end  of  any  fun  that  was  going  on,  but  I  generally  got 
in.  And  now,  at  12.45  in  the  morning,  after  you  have  listened  to  the  eloquent 
speeches  that  have  been  made,  I  am  called  upon  to  say  a  few  words  for  the  ''  old 
boys  "  of  Springfield. 

I  Avill  begin  where  my  friend  Mr.  Ames  Wells  left  off..  He  spoke  of  a 
worthy  gentleman,  Mr.  Elijah  Blake,  Avho  used  to  be  the  terror  of  the  boys. 
But  there  was  another  worthy  gentleman,  whom  I  remember  and  whom  you  all 
remember  very  well,  Mr.  William  Hatfield,  who  was  a  constable  of  the  town,  and 
who  took  care  of  the  boys  that  sometimes  made  fun  at  Dr.  Osgood's  church. 
I  remember  one  time  Avhen  the  missionary  spirit  was  prevailing  in  Springfield, 


612  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1SS6. 

and  every  one  Avas  very  much  interested  in  the  mission  of  Mr.  Armstrong  at  the 
Hawaiian  Islands,  that  every  little  while  the  Sunday  school  made  contributions 
for  his  and  other  missions.  But  Mr.  Armstrong's  mission  generally  brought 
more  of  our  pennies  than  any  other ;  for  we  knew  Mr.  Armstrong,  and  he  some- 
times sent  curiosities  to  Springfield  to  be  shoAvn  to  the  Sunday-school  scholars 
of  Mr.  George  Merriam.  I  noAv  recall  that  a  contribution  Avas  to  be  taken  up 
one  Sunday  afternoon  for  this  mission ;  and  the  Saturday  evening  before,  the 
boys  met,  as  Avas  their  habit,  in  front  of  a  Avell-knoAvn  store  Avhich  did  consider- 
able trade  with  Mr.  R.  M.  Cooley,  Avho  made  soap  and  candles.  The  agreement 
Avith  the  firm  and  Mr.  Cooley  Avas,  that  they  should  take  their  pay  in  pennies 
for  clothing  bought  of  them ;  so  that  they  had  under  their  counter  a  large  dry- 
goods  case  almost  filled  Avith  pennies, —  old-fashioned  cents.  This  evening  the  boys 
changed  their  ninepences  and  quarters  into  cents.  The  next  Sunday  afternoon 
Ave  all  sat  in  the  old  square  pcAv,  in  the  corner  of  the  gallery,  and  in  due  time 
the  contribution  AA^as  to  be  taken  up.  Mr.  Hatfield,  Avho  Avore  an  old-fashioned 
Avhite  AA'ool  hat,  one  of  the  kind  that  you  can  bloAv  upon  and  make  AvinroAvs, 
and  one  that  had  been  Avorn  long  enough  to  have  the  edges  a  little  bit  tender, 
began  to  take  up  the  contribution.  He  Avent  doAvn  to  Charley  Childs's  pcAv,  Avhich 
Avas  in  tlie  front  roAv,  and  took  his  contribution,  and  then  he  came  up  to  the  pew 
where  Ave  boys  Avere.  We  commenced  to  unload  our  pennies  into  the  hat,  chucked 
them  in  Avith  some  considerable  force,  and  after  the  contribution  from  this  pcAv 
had  been  taken  up  he  began  to  go  doAvn  the  aisle  to  take  up  further  contributions. 
As  he  Avent  along  the  toj)  of  the  hat  opened  and  the  pennies  began  to  drop  out. 
Pretty  soon  the  hole  became  larger,  and  down  went  the  pennies  on  the  floor  Avith 
a  tremendous  crash.  Dr.  Osgood  spoke,  and  said  that  if  Mr.  Hatfield  Avould  Avait 
there  Avhere  he  was  then  standing  he  Avould  pronounce  the  benediction.  The 
benediction  AA^as  pronounced,  and  then  the  question  arose  among  the  boys  as  to 
hoAv  Ave  were  to  get  out.  We  could  not  jump  out  of  the  AvindoAv,  and  Ave  Avaited 
and  waited  to  help  to  pick  up  the  pennies.  By  and  by  Ave  made  a  dash  for  the  door. 
Mr.  Hatfield  was  ahead  of  us  on  one  side  of  the  door,  and  Mr.  Blake  on  the 
other ;  and  before  Ave  could  pass  either  of  them  our  ears  got  a  fine  twisting,  and 
some  of  us,  after  Ave  arrived  home,  wished  that  our  trousers  had  been  reinforced. 

In  my  travels  around  the  Avorld  I  often  go  back,  in  mind,  to  this,  the  most 
beautiful  city,  in  my  opinion,  that  there  is  anyAvhere.  There  is  no  city  that 
begins  to  be  located  as  this  is,  on  this  beautiful  riA'er,  and  so  diA^ersified  as  it  is 
with  hill  and  valley.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  trees  are  greener  in  Springfield 
than  anyAAdiere  else. 

But,  after  all,  the  great  glory  of  Springfield  is  in  the  men  and  Avomen  it  has 
produced.    AVhy,  just  think  of  it,  gentlemen !    Go  back  fifty  years  and  look  for  a 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  613 


moment  at  the  missionary  spirit  which  then  existed,  and  of  the  great  number  of 
missionaries  that  Avent  out  from  this  town.  At  this  moment  I  recall  the  names 
of  Van  Lennep,  Calhoun,  and  the  Blisses  (and  there  are  others  whose  names  do 
not  come  to  mind  now),  men  who  have  been  stationed  all  over  the  world,  and  who 
have  carried  good  living  and  pure  religion  Avherever  they  have  been.  This,  in 
itself,  is  glory  enough  for  Springfield. 

Consider,  for  a  moment,  that  the  Episcopal  Church,  which  was  formed  here 
by  the  Eev.  Henry  W.  Lee,  has  sent  out  three  bishops,  —Bishop  Lee,  of  Iowa, 
Bishop  Littlejohn,  of  Long  Island,  and  Bishop  Burgess.  That,  in  itself,  is  glory 
enough  for  Springfield. 

I  recall,  Avith  a  great  deal  of  interest,  the  name  of  a  quiet,  modest  man,  Avho, 
although  he  started  his  enterprise  in  another  place,   succeeded  in   bringing  the 
manufacture  of  india-rubber  to  a  high  state  of  perfection  in  a  shop  now  stand- 
ing on  Mill  river.      I  allude  to  Mr.   Charles  Goodyear,  whose  name  is  world- 
renowned.     I  remember  distinctly  a  little   incident  which  happened  during  his 
life  in  Springfield.     He  was  very  poor,  and  one  day  was   arrested   for  the  non- 
payment of  a  debt.     He  was  put  in  the  jail  limits.     He  had  a  suit  of  clothes 
making  at  a  tailor-shop  in  Springfield,  and  on  Saturday  night,  when  the  clothes 
were  to  be  delivered,  one   of  the  firm  said  that  Mr.  Goodyear  was  at  Sheriff 
roster's.     But  he  said  to  the  trotter-boy  in  the  shop,  "  When  you  go  home,  take 
Mr.  Goodyear's  suit  of  clothes  to  him,  and  tell  him  that  he   can  pay  for  them 
when  it  suits  his  convenience."     On  his  way  to  the  jail  the  boy  stopped  at  his 
home  for  supper.     A  barrel  of  fine  red  apples  had  been  delivered  that  afternoon 
at  the  boy's  house,  and  his  mother  requested  him  to  unhead  it.     He   did  so,  and 
took  out  of  the  barrel  one  of  the  largest  apples  and  put  it  in  his  jacket-pocket. 
He  then  started  for  the  jail,  which  was  near  by,  to  deliver  the  clothes  to  Mr. 
Goodyear.     To  his  surprise  he  found  Mr.  Goodyear  reading  in   Sheriff  Foster's 
office!!     He  was  not  behind  the   bars,  but  was  only  in  the  jail  limits.     He  deliv- 
ered the  clothes  and  the   message  of  his  employer.     It   occurred  to  him  that, 
perhaps,  the  red  apple  would  be  acceptable   to  Mr.    Goodyear.      He  took  the 
apple  out  of  his  pocket  and  handed  it  to  Mr.  Goodyear,  who  thanked  him  very 
kindly.     On  the   Lst  of  January,  1854,  this  young  man  was  in  Paris,   in  John 
Munroe's  office.     It  was  Sunday,  a  fete  day.     Lord  Palmerston  and  other  notable 
Englishmen  were  there  conferring  with  Napoleon  about  the   allied  army.     The 
young  man  went  into  Mr.  Munroe's  office  and  sat  down  to  read  some  letters  that 
had  been  received  there  for  him.     After  he  had  finished  reading,  he  looked  up 
and  saw  in  the  next  room  Mr.  Goodyear.     Soon  Mr.    Munroe  came  to  him  and 
said.  "  Do  vou  know  that  gentleman?"  pointing  to  Mr.  Goodyear.     He  replied 
that  he  did:   that  the  gentleman  was  Mr.  Charles  Goodyear.     ^Ir.  Munroe  then 


^14  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-JS86. 


said,   "He  wishes  to  see  you."     The  young  man  then  went  to   Mr.    Goodyear, 
who  looked  up  from  the  desk  at  which  he  was  writing,  and   said,   "  How  do\vou 
do?     You  are  from  Springfield,  and  used  to   be  a  clerk  for  Palmer  &  Ckrk. 
Do  you  remember  a  certain  red  apple  wliich  was  given  to  me  once?  "    The  young 
man  replied  that  he  did,  and  that  he  was  very  glad  to  know  that  circumstances 
had  greatly  changed ;  and  also  that  he  had  noticed  with  a  great  deal  of  interest 
what  had  been  said  of  Mr.    Goodyear,  especially  in  regard  to  india-rubber  pon- 
toons, which  he  Avas  then  making  for  the  French  government.     After  a  pleasant 
conversation,  Mr.  Goodyear  asked  the  young  man  to   step  around  to  his  liotel  at 
12  o'clock.     The  young  man  did  so,  and  soon  he  was  invited  by  Mr.  Goodyear 
to  drive  witli  him  to  the  Bois  de  Boulogne.     The  emperor,  one  other  distin- 
guished party,  Mr.    Goodyear,  and  the  young  clerk  from  the  Springfield  tailor- 
shop  were  the  only  ones  that  drove  that  day  up  and  down  the  avenue  behind 
four  horses.     Mr.  Goodyear  showed  this  young  man  great  attention  afterwards, 
and  they  were   constantly  talking  about  Springfield.     Why,  gentlemen,  the  fact 
that  Charles  Goodyear  carried  to  such  great  perfection  his  india-rubber  inven- 
tions in  this  town  is  glory  enough  for  Springfield. 

In  my  travels  over  the  country  I  find,  all  the  way  from  Halifax  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, men  scattered  along  the  railway  lines  who  have  graduated  from  this  Boston 
&  Albany  Railroad.     And  it  is  only  a  few  days  ago,  when  in  the  far  West,  I  met 
several  men  of  my  set,  and  every  one  of  them  said  something  about  this  beauti- 
ful  old  town.     They  mentioned  the  names  of  friends  whom  they  knew  as  boys, 
and  after  whom  they  asked  with  most  affectionate  tenderness.     I  should  do  them 
and  myself  injustice  if  I  were  to  sit  down  without  naming   one,  a  lady,  most 
beautiful  in  appearance,  most  dignified  in  her  bearing,  and  lovely  in  her  char- 
acter, who  has  done  more  for  the  boys  of  Springfield  than  any  one  person  that  I 
know  of.     She  is  now  living  among  you,   and  I  mention  her  with  the  greatest 
veneration  and  respect.  Miss  Margaret  Bliss.     I  also  Avish  to  mention  three  men 
(there  are  others,  but  these  three  names  come  to  my  mind  at  this  moment),  from 
whom  most  of  the  boys  have  received  kind  words  of  encouragement  some'  time 
in  their  lives,  which  they  would  never  have  had  if  it  had  not  been  for  these 
three  gentlemen  now  living  among  you,  and  after  whom  the  boys  always  inquire 
when  I  meet  them  in  my  travels  through  the   country.     I  allude  to  Mr.  Homer 
Foot,  Judge  Henry  Morris,  and  Mr.  Henry  Fuller,  Jr.     And  all  I  desire  is,  that 
the  men  of  to-day  will  continue  and  carry  out  the  enterprise  and  high  principles 
practised  by  the  men  of  noble  character  of  the  last  fifty  years. 

Speeches  were  also  made  by  the  Rev.  John  Cucksou,  of  Spriugfield, 
and   Rev.   Mr.    Harding,  of   Lougmeadow.      Many   letters   of   regret 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-18S6.  615 


were  received,  includiug  a  cordial  one  from  the  venerable  George 
Bancroft.  Gen.  W.  H.  L.  Barnes,  of  San  Francisco,  took  occasion 
in  his  letter  of  regret  to  recall  at  length  the  scenes  of  his  boyhood. 

Thus  closed  the  most  interesting  banquet  given  at  Springfield   in 
this  o-eneration. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

May  26,   1886. 

The  Second  Day  of  the  Celebration.  -  The  Children's  Concert.  -  The  Procession. - 
Distinguished  Guests.  -  Historical  Representation.  -  The  Veterans  in  Line. -The 
Trades.-  The  Grand  Ball  at  the  City  Hall,  n^hich  closed  the  Ceremonies  of  the  Great 
Celebration  of  May  25-26,  1886. 

The  first  feature  of  the  second  and  closing  day  of  the  celebration 
was  the  children's  concert  in  Court  square.  Raised  seats  to  accom- 
modate nearly  two  thousand  were  put  up  in  front  of  Odd:  Fellows 
hall.  The  square  was  full  of  interested  people,  and  tlie  children  of 
all  the  public  schools,  under  the  skilful  direction  of  Prof.  F.  Zucht- 
mann,  gave  a  charming  entertainment.  Military  bands  played  before 
the  children  began.  "  The  Puritan  March,"  composed  for  the  occa- 
sion by  Prof.  Edward  B.  Phelps,  was  rendered  by  Gartland's  Band, 
and  was  received  with  great  favor.  The  children  began  their  concert 
with  the  "  Pioneer  Hymn,"  beginning 

Send  forth  a  shout  of  holy  joy! 

The  words  were  written  by  a  citizen  of  Springfield  for  the  occa- 
sion, and  were  set  to  music  by  Professor  Phelps.  Many  patriotic 
choruses  followed,  and  were  warmly  received.  The  bands  concluded 
the  concert. 

But  the  event  of  the  day,  and,  to  many,  of  the  week  itself,  was 
the  procession  which  formed  at  1  P.M.,  the  first  division  being 
stationed  on  North  Main  street,  and  the  others  forming  upon  the 
various  side  streets,  and  falling  into  line  as  the  column  passed  down 
Main  street.     The  order  of  march  was  as  follows  : 


SPRINGFIELD,    16S6-18SG.  617 

Two  ^Mounted  Police. 

Platoon  of  Police  under  command  of  Capt.  Edward  H.  Boecklin. 

Chief  Marshal,  William  Pynchon ;  Major  Samuel  B.    Spooner,   Chief-of-staflf ; 

Charles  W.  Mutell,  Adjutant,  and  aids. 

FIRST    DIVISION. 

Assistant  Marshal,  Col.  Homer  G.  Gilmore,  and  aids. 
American  Band  of  Providence,  R.I.,  twenty-five  men,  D.  AV.  Peeves, 

Leader. 

First    Regiment    Drum,   Fife,   and    Bugle  Corps   of    Boston,   twenty-five    men, 

James  F.   Clark,  Drum-major. 

Co.  B,  Second  Regiment  M.V.M.,  of  SpringfieUl. 

Co.  G,  Second  Regiment  M.V.M.,  of  Springfield. 

Co.  D,  Second  Regiment  M.V.M.,  of  Holyoke. 

Battery  from  United  States  Armory. 

Invited  guests  in  carriages,  as  follows  :  — 

Governor  Robinson,  Mayor  Metcalf,  and  Adjutant-General  Samuel  Dalton,  of 
Salem;  Gen.  E.  P.  Nettleton,  of  Boston,  and  Colonels  H.  S.  Boynton,  of  Boston, 
J.  J.  "Whipple,  of  Brockton,  and  T.  E.  Currier,  of  ]\Ialden,  of  the  Governor's  staff; 
Colonels  Myron  P.  Walker,  of  Belchertown,  and  E.  Stearns,  of  Maiden ;  Lieut. - 
governor  Oliver  Ames,  and  Councillor  Jonathan  Bourne,  of  New  Bedford ;  Coun- 
cillors L.  J.  Powers,  Warren  E.  Locke,  of  Norwood,  Frank  D.  Allen,  of  Lynn,  and 
J.  H.  Butler,  of  Soraerville  ;  Executive  Clerk  Edward  F.  Hamlin,  of  Newton,  and 
Councillors  L.  J.  Logan,  of  Boston,  A.  B.  Coffin,  of  Winchester,  and  Henry  C. 
Greeley,  of  Clinton;  Secretary  of  State  H.  B.  Pierce,  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  R. 
Pynchon,  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  Wellington  Smith,  of  Lee,  and  Edward  H.  La- 
tlirop;  William  F.  Edwards,  of  Cleveland,  0.,  George  Bliss,  of  New  York,  and 
Hon.  J.  L.  Houston,  of  Enfield,  Conn.;  ^layor  Bulkeley,  of  Hartford,  Conn., 
R.  F.  Hawkins,  and  F.  A.  Judd;  D.  J.  Marsh,  and  Generals  Stephen  Smitli, 
Barton,  and  Goodrich;  Colonels  Blakeslee,  Hyde,  and  Mowry,  of  tlie  staff  of 
the  Governor  of  Connecticut;  Mayor  Benjamin  E.  Cook,  Jr..  of  Northampton, 
Edwin  Hodges,  of  Westfield  ;  John  C.  Porter,  of  Longmeadow,  and  E.  K. 
Bodurtha,  of  Agawam;  A.  F.  Allen,  of  Enfield,  Conn.,  E.  A.  Russell,  of  Suf- 
field,  Conn.,  P.  P.  Potter,  of  Wilbraham,  and  Decius  Beebe,  of  Hampden, — 
the  last  seven  chairmen  of  the  selectmen  of  tlie  towns  that  were  part  of  the  old 
plantation ;  Sheriff  H.  Q.  Sanderson  and  the  County  Commissioners,  Leonard 
Clark,  Lewis  Root,  of  AVestfield,  and  Henry  A.  Chase,  of  Holyoke;  Aldermen 
Beach,  Bidwell,  Holbrook.  and  Tapley :   Aldermen  AVesson.  Miller,  and  Pinney, 


618  SPRINGFIELD,    J636-1SS6, 


Bowman,  Bill,  Lyford,  Bradford,  Callender,  Dickinson,  Fisk,  Hall,  Margerum, 
Frink,  and  Smith,  and  Clerk  E.  A.  Newell. 

SECOND    DIVISION. 

Assistant  ^Marshal,  Capt.   Peter  S.  Bailey,  and  aids,  C.  L.  Chapin,  and 

J.  R.   Wells. 

Historical  display  of  Periods  from  1600  to  1860 ;  — 

1600. 

Represented  by  Indians  led  by  a  sachem,  and  followed  by  squaws,  children,  and 

pappooses,  seventy-three  in  all,  represented  by  the  Ousamequin  Tribe 

of  the  Improved  Order  of   Red  Men. 

1635-1735.  /— 

1st.     A  Band  of  Puritans. 
2d.      Float  showing  tlie  purchase  of  Springfield  lands  l)y  William  Pynchon  from 

the  Indians. 
3d.      Model  of  the  first  house  built  in  Springfield  (half  size). 
4th.     Model  of  the  old  Indian  Fort. 
5th.      The  burning  of  Springfield  in  1675. 
6th.     The  first  church  built  in  Springfield  in  1645.  and  churcb  congregation. 

1735-1835. 

Weed's  Band  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  twenty-one  men. 
1st.      Governor's  Foot  Guards,  of  Hartford,  representing  British  soldiers  in  the 

Revolutionary  War. 
2d.      Representation  of  the  French  and  Indian  War,  by  members  of  the  St.  Jean 

Baptiste  Society  of  Springfield.     Twelve  mounted  Indians,  thirty  French 

soldiers  in  uniform. 
3d.      Uniformed  Company,  representing  Continental  soldiers. 
4th.     Visit  of  General  Washington  to  Springfield,  1789. 
5th.     Declaration  of  Independence. 

6th.     Three  Doctors  of  tlie  last  century  in  gigs  and  on  horseback. 
7th.     A  Wedding  Party  of  six  on  horseback. 

8tli.     Four  Couples  representing  costumes  of  the  people,  in  chaises. 
9th.     First  Governor  of  Massachusetts  after  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 


620  SPRINGFIELD,   1636-1886. 


1835-1860. 
1st.     Ancient  Stage-coach. 
2d.      Steamboat  "  Agawam." 
3d.      First  Railway  Train  on  Boston  &  Albany  Railroad. 

THIRD    DIVISIOX. 

Assistant  Marshal,   Abner    P.    Leshure,   and  Aids,   AV.   A.   Withey  and  H.  W. 

Keyes. 

Thompsonville  Drum  Corps. 

Ancient  Fire-warden,  Avith  staff  of  office  made  for  the  town  of  Springfield,  1794, 

represented  by  G.  H,  Turner. 

Old  Firemen,  represented  by  Geo.  Grouse. 

Ten  men  in  costume  of  177G. 

Old  Hand-engine  "  Torrent,"  of  Norwich  Town,  Conn.,  110  years  old,  drawn  by 

one  horse,  driven  by  Joseph  Champ. 
An  Ancient  Tub,  on  tAvo  Mheels,  with  pumps  and  bars,  for  four  men  to  operate 

it,  drawn  by  one  horse,  driA^en  by  John  Clark. 
Old  Hand-engine   "Invincible,"  from  Thompsonville,   built  in  1820,  draAvn  by 

two  horses,  Avith  a  company  of  nineteen  men.    R.  B.  Wilson,  secretary. 
Hand-engine  from  NeAv  Haven,  built  182.5,  and  draAvn  by  tAvo  horses,  attended  by 

a  company  of  eight  men.     Geo.  Chamberlain,  foreman. 
Old  Ocean  Engine,  No.  4,  in  use  from   1844  to  1856,  draAvn  by  tAvo  horses,  and 

attended  by  a  company  of  eight  men.     Foreman,  J.  McQuire. 

Old  Hand-engine  "  Torrent,"  of  Chicopee  Falls,  in  use  since  1850,  attended  by 

sixty  men  of  that  department.     Commanded  In'  O.  K.  Batchelder, 

Chief  Engineer  of  the  Chicopee  Falls  Fire  Department, 

Avith  his  assistant  chief,  W.  H.  Osgood. 

Steam  Fire-engine  "  Henry  Gray."  oAvned  by  the  Boston  &  Albany  Railroad, 

built  in  1862. 
Steam  Fire-engine  from  Chicopee  Department,  built  in  1872,  draAvnby  tAvo  horses, 
Avith  a  company  of  tAvelve  men.     Foreman,  W.  H.    Lees  ;  assistant 
foreman,  Gabriel  Burn.     The  Avhole  under  the  command  of 
Chief  Engineer  Hosiey,  of  Chicopee. 
Fire  Extinguisher,    from  Westfield,  built  in  1872,   and  draAvn  by  two  horses, 
attended  by  ten  men,  under  command  of  George  Simpson,  foreman, 
and  Charles  Allen,  assistant  foreman. 
The  company  and  the  apparatus  in  the  regular  service  of  the  Westfield  Fire 
Department. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  621 

Hand-hose  Company  from  West  Springfield,  organized  1885,  twenty  men. 

Four-wheeled  Hose-carriage.     Foreman,  Frank  ^Matthews ;  all  under  command 

of  John  Emerson,  Assistant  Chief  Engmeer  West  Springfield  Fire 

Department. 

Tenth  Regiment  Band,  of  Albany,  N.Y. 

First  Assistant  Engineer,  J.  A.  Stevens,  Third  Assistant  .Engineer,  J.  H.  Gould, 

Springfield  Fire  Department,  one  hundred  and  forty  men. 

Engine  Company  No.  1,  Wm.  Heffner,  foreman;  J.  L.  Strong,  assistant. 

Engine  Company  No.  2,  W.  J.  Lunden,  foreman;  B.  J.  Williams,  assistant. 

Hose  Company  No.  3,  F.  E.  Knight,  foreman;  Geo.  Williard,  assistant. 
Engine  Company  No.  4,  F.  L.  Southmayd,  foreman;  Wm.  Dagget,  assistant. 

Hose  Company  No.  5,  J.  H.  Lossee,  foreman;  C.  Trim,  assistant. 

Hose  Company  No.  0,  Geo.  Harrington,  foreman;  E.  J.  Flannery,  assistant. 

Hose  Company  No.  7.  J.  H.  McCleary,  foreman;  E.  M.  Holcomb,  assistant. 

Hook-and-Ladder  Company,  F.   L.   Howard,  foreman;   A.   J.  Trask,  assistant. 

Chief  Engineer's  Wagon. 

Water-spout  Engine, 

Four-Avheel  Hose-carriage. 

Engine  No.  1. 

Two-wheel  Hose-cart. 

Engine  No.  2. 
Two-wheel  Hose-cart. 

Engine  No.  -4. 
Two-wheel  Hose-cart. 

Engine  No.  5. 

Two-Adieel  Hose-cart. 

Hose  No.  3,  four-wheel  Wagon. 

Hose  No.  6,  two-wheel  Cart. 

Hose  No.  7,  four-wheel  Wagon. 

Hook-and-Ladder  Truck  No.  1. 

Hook-and-Ladder  Truck  No.  2. 

Supply  Wagon  No.  1. 

Supply  Wagon  No.  2. 

FOURTH   DIVISION. 

Assistant  Marshal,  Col.  E.  P.  Clark,  of  Holyoke,  and  aids,  C.  B.  Ladd, 
M.  E.  Streeter,  and  N.  E.  Remington. 
Moodus  (Ct.)  Drum  Corps. 


622  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


IWS 


AVilcox  Armed  Battalion,  as  follow 

Major  E.  F.  Cross,  Quartermaster  C.  E.  Kaplinger,   Capt.  S.  B.  Parker,  Capt. 

F.  C.  Cook,  Capt.  James  Shean,  Sergeant  S.  F.  Burlingame,  Sergeant  A.  P. 
Adams,  Sergeant  William  Buchanan,  Adjutant  N.  E.  Abbott,  Sergeant  D.  ^X. 
Ware,  Lieuts.  Geo.  Smith,  A.  J.  Chapin,  Chas.  H.  Emerson;  Color  Sergeants 
C.  W.  Gecklerand  J.  M.  Glover;  Markers,  Sergeants  H.  S.  Cullums  and  H. 
L.  Brown,  Sergeant-Major  G.  D.  Shaw,  Bugler,  Charles  Kaplinger. 

Privates  :  C  A.  BartholomeAv,  A.  X.  Johnson,  J.  A.  A.  Packard,  M.  Harri- 
gan,  A.  N.  Sollace,  J.  H.  Brines,  C.  N.  Wood,  J.  Jefferson,  E.  M.  SaAvtelle,  A. 
B.  Wood,    A.  Sabin,  G.  M.  Taylor,  John  Sullivan,  H.  S.   Phelps,  F.  L.  Perry, 

G.  H.  Thomas,  Wm.  Tattan,  C.  W.  Garrett,  James  Kenna,  C.  R.  Matthews, 
Wm.  Thompson,  G.  W.  Betterly,  N.  W.  Storrs,  Nelson  Perry,  D.  Goodson,  E.' 
Kunle,  Geo.  W.  Cooley,  H.  M.  Cooley,  L.  Harris,  P.  H.  Elwell,  L.  P.  Strong, 
N.  R.  Hall,  F.  W.  Stacy,  Eli  Lapan,  J.  L.  Gaboury,  Wm.  C.  Goodrich,  W.  D. 
Phelps.  Alex  Smith,  Julian  Pomroy,  Francis  A.  Taylor,  Wm.  G.  Pond,  H.  X. 
Kellogg,  Peter  King,  E.  Warburton,  James  Anderson,  C.  C.  Hastings,  C.  B. 
Blair,  Geo.  L.  Warriner,  Joseph  Lombra,  E.  Wood,  Louis  Ashey,  Wm.  Hensley, 
John  J.  Walsh,  J.  C.  Cooney.  James  Conway. 

E.  K.  Wilcox  Post  16  :  -J.  H.  Hendrick,  P.C. ;  W.  S.  Shurtleff,  S.Y. ;  S.  B.  Par- 
ker. J.V.  ;  C.  H.  Rust,  Adjutant;  D.  W.  Ware,  Q.IM.  ;  W.  I.  Lyman.  Chaplain; 
J.  A.  McGinley,  O.D.  ;  A.  W.  Gushing,  O.G.  ;  F.  L  Rollins,  S.  Major; 
Nathaniel  Smith,  C.  H.  Allison,  A.  H.  Smith,   J.  S.  Pierpont,  Wm.  Fogertv,  C. 

D.  Holbrook,  A.  H.  Ward,  E.  C.  Wilson,  L.  P.  Strong.  E.  B.  Lovering,  c' H. 
Knight,   James   Murphy.  A.  E.   Todd.  J.   M.   Kelley,    S.   L.   Hines,   H.  F.  Fisk, 

E.  D.  King,  Peter  Shanley,  AV.  P.  French,  Frank  Bordo,  R.  W.  Millard,  Daniel 
White,  Levi  B.  Coe,  Thomas  Parker,  M.  J.  Lynch,  A.  D.  King,  Jared  Wheeler, 
R.  M.  Morse,  John  McCutcheon,  John  P.  Hawkins.  Benj.  Kineston,  H.  C.  Por- 
ter, J.  F.  Ross,  W.  X.  Elmer,  Geo.  W.  Tupper,  H.  A.  Searle,  Wm.  LaFontaine, 
Edward  Morrill,  L.  AVood.  G.  H.  Nicholas,  Justin  Rogers,  C.  H.  Hood,  X.  S. 
Smith.  G.  W.  Gardner,  G.  Woodsworth,  John  Fremenwiler.  E.  L.  Coville,  L. 
D.  Trask,  Wm.  Dugan,  G.  C  Lougee,  Wm.  McGarrett,  J.  C.  Condon,  M. 
Dooley,  A.  C.  Gove,  E.  E.  Fisher.  H.  Gallup,  A.  J.  Kay,  G.  M.  Stowell,  G. 
Barnum,  Simon  Katz.  G.  AV.  Clark,  J.  ^Y .  Clark,  J.  P.  Coburn,  D.  T.  Perkins, 
AV.  B.  AVatts,  H.  X.  King,  AA^  H.  Duncan,  D.  AA^  Frost,  H.  L.  Malory,  Adiu 
Alden,  F.  A.  Moody,  AA^  C  Eaton,  J.  E.  Stewart,  M.  Gleason,  D.  X.  Haskill. 
D.  G.  Hosmer,  F.  St.  Johns,  AA^  L.  Parkhurst,  AA\  H.  Combs,  Geo.  A.  Hill. 
S.  B.  Spooner,  E.  M.  Tinkham,  J.  Stevens,  A.  H.  Sanderson,  M.  H.  Mclntire, 
A.  E.  Allen,   H.  AA^   Burke,  Isaac   AA^   Coomes.  A.  Roucton,   T.    Tirnine,   C  E. 


^-4  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-lSSG. 


Iserman,  W.  G.  Iddings,  R.  L.  Ferris,  F.  A.  Thyne,  J.  Churchill,  W.  D.  Austin, 
A.  K.  Mathews,  B.  C.  Davis,  John  Griffin,  Charles  Trim,  W.  H.  Strong,  J.  B.' 
Hosmer,  Alonzo  Sabin,  A.  P.  AVade,  W.  J.  Langdon. 

Other  Post,    and  old  Soldiers  :  — C.  H.    Grant,   Dennis  Towne,   H.    M.   Bliss, 
Wra.  Potter,    Edgar  K.   Sellew,    Lambert  W.   Cady,  E.  N.  Haskelh 

Wilcox  Post:-Federick  Gallup,  Austin  C.  Gove,  Arthur  D.  King,  John 
McCutcheon,  Ransom  M.  Morse,  Edward  Morrill,  Lorin  Wood,  Edward  Stewart. 
Otis  Chapman  Post  No.  103,  G.A.R.,  of  Chicopee. 
Lyon  Post,  No.  41,  of  Westfield,  Mass.  .--George  H.  Prescott,  Commander; 
C.  A.  Hedges,  Judson  Lee,  Theodore  Manee,  Wm.  Pohler,  Joseph  Halliday! 
Leroy  Bosworth,  George  Bowen,  L.  F.  Carter,  W.  C.  Clark,  H.  H.  Copley,' 
Elbert  Gillett,  E.  R.  Lay,  David  Maxwell,  George  Maxwell,  Chas.  0.  Kingsley,' 
Isaac  Nash,  A.  IL  Stebbins,  C.  A.  Newell,  A.  W.  Furrows,  W.  H.  Fur^'rows,' 
Adam  Swan,  H.  B.  Graves,  James  Root,  Cyrus  Wells,  John  H.  Miller,  Chas.' 
Liswell,  A.  E.  Humiston,  Chas.  Lambson,  John  Gorham,  Horace  Williams, 
E.  J.  Burt,  R.  J.  Smith,  A.  E.  Brooks,  Edmund  Noble,  J.  W.  Gibbs,  Buel 
Burt,  David  Keefe,  Linus    Burt,   AV.    E.   Walton. 

Kilpatrick  Post,  No.   71,  of  Holyoke:-AY.   H.   Abbot,   Commander;  A.  M. 
Cain,  S.V.C. ;  J.  J.  Callanan,  J.V.C. ;  ^Y.  L  Turner,  O.D.  ;  D.  E.  Butler,  G.  E. 
Marsh,   S.  E.  Gifford,  A.  N.  Ricker,  A.  P.  Ricker,  A.    P.  Lewis,   Fred  Batch- 
elder,   C.   Sanborn,   Fred   AVestphael,  P.    A.   Streeter,   Geo.    S.   Avery,   G.   AV. 
Thomas,    D.    AV.   Young,   David  Binns,   C.    Batchelder,   Albert  Loring,   H.   A. 
Deane,  Chas.  S.  Knapp,   S.  Smith,  Chas.  P.  Lyman,  T.  Shine,  G.  Brown,  AA^m. 
Keyes,   Jas.   H.   Howes,   J.    A.    Cleveland,   J.    F.    Canavan,    Emil  Ushman,   B. 
Harobine,  D.   0.  Judd,  Leander  Pelot,  Peter  J.  Donnelly,  Dan  Palmer. 
L.  A.  Tifft  Camp  No.  11,  Sons  of  Veterans,  of  Springfield. 
Display  representing  A.D.  1935. 
1st.     A  car  carrying  fifty  young  girls,  preceded  by  twenty-four  boys  on  foot,  and 
followed  by  a  like  number ;  the  boys  carrying  banners   inscribed  with 
prophecies  and  mottoes  suited  to  the  occasion,  representing  the  Spring- 
field that  is  to  be. 
2d.      A  car  carrying  boys  and  girls,  representing  the  IMayor  and   Aldermen  of 

fifty  years  hence  in  session. 
3d.      A  car  carrying  boys  and    girls,  illustrating  the  unification  of  nationalities 
under  the  stars  and  stripes. 
Representation  of  the  towns  comprising  the  old  Springfield  plantation. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886.  625 


FIFTH    DIVISION. 

Assistant  Marshal,  Major  Zenas  C.  Kennie,  and  aids. 
Fitchburg  Band,  twenty-five  men,  G.  A.  Patz,  Leader. 
Third  Kegiraent  Patriarchs  Militant,  I.O.O.F.,  Col.  Eugene  F.  Cross,  Com- 
manding. 
Grand  Canton  Springfield,  No.  10,  of  Springfield. 
Canton  Meadow  City,  No.  29,  of  Northampton. 
Canton  Colfax,  No.  28,  of  North  Adams. 
Canton  Tabor,  No.  20,  of  Shelburne  Falls. 
Band. 
Canton  Capital  City,  No.  1,  of  Hartford,  Conn. 
Band. 
Canton  Excelsior,  No.  11.  of  Middletown,  Conn. 
Cathedral  Cadets,  of  Springfield. 
St.  James  Cadets,  of  Springfield. 
St.  Jerome  Cadets,  of  Holyoke. 
Thompsonville  Drum  Band. 
Conclave  No.  13,  Knights  of  Sherwood  Forest,  Westfield. 
Conclave  No.  20,  Knights  of  Sherwood  Forest,  Holyoke. 

SIXTH    DIVISION. 

Assistant  Marshal,  Charles  D.  Rood,  and  aids. 

Little's  Band,  of  Springfield,  twenty-five  men,   E.  H.  Little,  Leader. 

Springfield  Schuetzen  Gessellshaft,  of  Springfield. 

.V  ear  representing  Art. 

Springfield  Turn  Verein,  of  Springfield. 

Germania  Lodge,  No.  380,  D.  of  H.,  of  Springfield,  and  visiting  Germans. 

Daughters  of  Cyrus,  of  Springfield. 

Drum   Band,  and   St.    Jean  Baptiste   Societ}',  of  Indian  Orcliard,  and  all  other 

Ununiformed  Orders. 

SEVENTH    DIVISION. 

Assistant  Marshal,  Lieut.  Gideon  Wells,  and  aids. 

Chicopee  Falls  Band. 

Association  of  Butchers,  two  hundred  and  fifty  mounted  men  in  uniform. 

Trades  Wagons  and  Exhibits  :  —  Smith.  Adams,  &  Houghton.  Downing,  Sturte- 

vant.   &   Co.,  A.   C   Creighton,  K.    F.    Hawkins,  Kalmbach  &  Geisel,  Hampden 


626 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


Watch  Company,  C.  H.  Bennett  &  Co.,  of  Springfield;  Lamb  Knitting  Machine 
Company,  of  Chicopee  Falls;   G.  W.  Hall,  Bigelow,  More,  &  Marston,  of  Spring- 


The  Procession  —  May  26. 


held;  H.  S.  Martin  &  Co.,  of  Chicopee,  Mass.;  Hartford  Carpet  Company,  of 
Thompsonville,  Conn. ;  Springfield  Glue  and  Emery  Wheel  Company,  American 
Express  Company,  Mill  River   Carpet-Cleaning  Company,  Geo.  A.   Hill,   J.   H 
Kogers,B.  L.   Bragg  &  Co.,  Belcher  &  Taylor  Agricultural  Tool  Company,  of 
Springfield. 


SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1S86.  627 


EIGHTH   DIVISION. 

Assistant  ^Marshal,  Noyes  W.  Fisk,  and  aids. 
Trades  ^Yagons  :  —  M.  J.  D.  Hutchins.  S.  Levison,  E.  M.  Lyman,  Homer  Foot 
&  Co.,  Lyman  Griswold,  B.  Frank  Steele,  A.  F.  Niles  &  Son,  Tinkham  &  Rogers, 
H.  L.  Niles  &  Co.,  Sanderson  &  Son,  Max  Lutz,  Haynes  &  Co.,  J.  S.  Carr  & 
Co.,  Mcintosh  &  Co.,  of  Springfield;  W.  C.  Wedge,  of  Chicopee,  Mass. ;  Adams 
&  Thomas,  CaldAvood  &  Burns,  Springfield  Foundry  Company,  of  Springfield; 
W.  W.  Coomes,  of  LongmeadoAv,  Mass.;  Chas.  C  Abby,  of  Chicopee;  D.  B. 
Montague,  Commerford  &  Daly,  M.  H.  Hayden,  I.  P.  Dickinson,  C.  Herbert 
Morton,  C  H.  Haynes,  E.  O.  Clark  &  Co.,  Dearden  &  Noble,  of  Springfield. 

NINTH    DIVISION. 

Assistant  Marshal.  B.  Frank  Steele,  and  aids. 

Colt's  Band,  of  Hartford,  twenty  men. 

Stone-cutters'  Union,  forty  men. 

Trades  Wagons  :  — Carlisle    Stone  Company,  Milton    Bradley  &  Co.,  West, 

Stone,  &  Co.,  Meekins  &  Packard,  W.  H.  Smith,  of  Springfield;  Dwight  ISIan- 

ufacturing  Company,  of  Chicopee,  Mass.;   Chicopee  Manufacturing  Company, 

of  Chicopee  Falls,  Mass;  Jas.  E.  Whittaker  &  Co.,  D.   H.  Brigham  &  Co.,  P. 

J.   O'Connell  &  Son,  W.  L.  Quinnell,  Cutter   &  Porter,  Metcalf  &  Luther,  A. 

0.  Brooks,  C.  P.  Alexander,  D.    J.  Marsh  &  Son,  Foster  &    Streeter,  C    M. 

Hibbard,  Geo.  A.  Graves  &  Son,  G.  S.  Barry,  E.  Dooley,  Troy  Steam  Laundry, 

Morgan  Envelope  Company,  Smith  &  Murray,  of  Springfield;  Fenton  &  Dunn, 

of  Holyoke,  Mass.;    W.  H.  Pinney  &  Co.,   C   C  Pease,   S.  E.   Goodyear,  H. 

Porter  Company,  John  Hamilton,  Fleischman  &  Co.,  of  Springfield. 

TENTH  DIVISION. 
Assistant  Marshal,  T.  0.  Bemis,  and  aids. 
Trades  Wagons  : —Forbes  &  Wallace,  Vienna  Pressed  Yeast  Company,  Fisk 
Manufacturing  Company,  of  Springfield;  T.  J.  Flannagan,  of  Holyoke,  Mass.; 
L.  E.  Pease,  of  Springfield;  John  C.  Schmidt  &  Son,  of  Westfield,  Mass. ;  Blair 
.Alanufacturing  Company,  Great  Atlantic  &  Pacific  Tea  Company,  of  Springfield; 
Spencer  Fire  Arms  Company,  of  Winsor;  W.  0.  Collins,  Springfield  Coal  & 
Wood  Company,  Springfield  Cooperative  Milk  Association,  C.  A  Wright.  J.  M. 
Cowan,  of  Springfield;  L.  B.  White  &  A.  H.  Ryan,  Edward  Connolly,  of  Hol- 
yoke, Mass.  ;  John  Walsh,  of  Springfield. 


Q'2S  SPRINGFIELD,    1636-1886. 


The  route  of  the  procession  was  from  Emery  street  down  Main  to 
Locust,  through  Mill,  Pine,  Walnut,  Oak,  State,  to  Main,  up  Main  to 
Carew,  thence  countermarching  to  State  street,  giving  the  Governor 
and  guests  an  opportunity  to  review  the  procession. 

The  day  closed  with  an  open-air  concert  on  Court  square  in  the 
evening  and  a  preliminary  concert  at  the  City  Hall,  before  the  ball, 
which  closed  in  a  brilUant  manner  the  stated  programme  of  festivities 
of  the  quarter-millennial  celebration  of  1886.  The  ball  committee 
were  Messrs.  Elisha  Morgan,  F.  D.  Foot,  Edward  Pynchon,  George 
A.  Morton  and  E.  C.  Washburn.  The  reception  committee  were 
Messrs.  H.  M.  Phillips,  E.  H.  Lathrop,  H.  S.  Lee,  S.  C.  Warriner, 
and  F.  A.  Judd.  The  floor-director  was  George  A.  Morton,  who  was 
assisted  by  Dr.  T.  F.  Breck,  F.  H.  Gillette,  George  D.  Pratt,  James 
H.  Pynchon,  R.  F.  Hawkins,  J.  D.  Safford,  N.  C.  NewelT,  George 
M.  Castle,  W.  P.  Alexander,  L.  C.  Hyde,  Harry  G.  Chapin,  W.  M. 
Willard,  Charles  A.  Nichols,  Dr.  G.  C.  McClean,  Charles  H.  South- 
worth,  and  George  R.  Bond.  The  ushers  were  Frederick  Harris, 
Henry  S.  Dickinson,  John  P.  Harding,  and  Robert  W.  Day. 


INDEX 


Adams,  John,  278. 
"       John  Q.,  459. 
Samuel,  278. 

A  G  AW  AM. 

First  house,  2,  4.  Town  meetmg, 
The,  19.  Controversy  with  Connect- 
icut colony,  39.  Act  of  secession 
from  Connecticut  colony,  46.  First 
town-meetings,  47.  Strangers  ex- 
cluded, 48.  Name  changed  to  Spring- 
field, 60.  See  also  Springfield. 
Agawams,   The     [Indians],    148,    155, 

160,  162. 
Agreement,  or   covenant,    of  first  set- 
tlers, 10,  570. 
Alexander,  Henry,  Jr.,   520,  522-524, 

534. 
Allen,  John,  45. 

"      Rebecca,  140. 
Alvord,  Mrs.  Noah,  222. 
Amadon,  Titus,  457. 
American  Association  for  the  Advance- 
ment of  Science,  495. 
American  Institute  of  Instruction,  495. 
Ames,  David,  356,  476. 

"      N.  P.,  475. 
Andros,  Sir  Edmund,  190,  195. 
Anniversary  ode,  584-589. 
Anti-slavery  agitation,  142,  462,  471. 
Appleton,   Samuel,  158,  160,  165,  169- 

171. 
Ashley.  John,  261,  327. 


Ashley,  Jonathan,  187. 

Joseph,  176,  187.      [2d],   222, 

238,  251,  254. 
Robert,  45,  47,  53,  67,  69,  70, 
77,    96,    97,    110,    125-127, 
130,   134,  187. 
Timothy,  345. 
Ashmun,  George,  399,  413,  416,  424, 
439,  441,  453,  456-458,  461,   481, 
517-519. 

Babcock,  Elisha,  344. 

"         Samuel,  347. 
Baker,  Mrs.  John,  139. 
Baldwin,  Rev.  Mr.,  265. 
Ball,  Francis,  77-79,  96-98. 

"     Francis,  Jr.,  262. 

"     Jonathan,  197. 

"     Samuel,  142. 
Ball,  Anniversary,  628. 
Bancroft,  George,  434,  437,  438,  615. 
Bangs,  Allen,  395,  396,  457. 
Banquet,  Anniversary,  590. 
Barber,  John,  143,  187,  197. 

"         John,  Jr.,  187. 
Barnard,  Goody,  139. 
Barnes,  Gen.  James,  529,  532,  615. 
Bartlett,  Hannah,  222. 

Jonathan,  and  wife,  222. 
"Bay  path,"  3,  99,  571. 
Beach,  Erasmus  D.,  464,  498,  519. 
I   Bedortha,  Blanche,  102. 


630 


INDEX. 


Bedortha,  Joseph,  180,  197. 

Reice,  96,  102,  110,  134,  176, 
187. 
"         Samuel,  176. 
Beers,  Richard,  157,  158. 
BelchertOAvn  (Mass.),  195. 
Bellamy,  Edward,  542. 

Charles  J.,  542. 
Bellingham,  Richard,  118. 
Bemis,  Stephen  C,  433,  482,  513,  519, 

520. 
Benton,  Daniel,   182. 
Blake,  Elijah,  407,  408. 
"      George,  363. 
"      William,  11. 
Blanchard,  Thomas,  374,  390,  409,  606. 
Blandford  (Mass.),  196. 
"  Blessing  of  the  Bay,"  6,  8,  598. 
Bliss,  Abel,  251. 
"      Alexander,  341. 
"      George,  360-367,  408. 
"      George,  Jr.,  366,   384-386,  413- 
417,    420,  429-434,  459,    468, 
481,  496,  498. 
Hector,  141. 
Gen.  Jacob,  364. 
Jedediah,  248,  251,  267,  294. 
John,  187,  275,  277. 
Jonathan,  265,  278,  336,  346. 
Lawrence,  132. 
Luke,   248,  251,  277,   278,   292, 

308,  312,  336. 
Margaret  (widow),  347. 
Moses,   265,  266,  269,  275,  278, 

281,  286,  287,  294,  309,  311. 
Moses  [merchant],  336,  475. 
Nathan,  96,  110,  139,  194. 
Nathaniel,  209. 
Pelatiah,  211,  251. 
Mrs.  Pelatiah,  222. 
Pitt,  368. 
Reuben,  285. 
Samuel,  187.  [2d],  209,  248,  251. 


Bliss,  Timothy,  251. 
"      Widow,  110,  222. 
"      William,  445. 

"      Mrs.  William,  and  daughter,  222. 
Bloody  Brook,  159. 
Bond,  Ephraim  W.,  465,  475,  480. 
Booth,  Dr.  A.,  346. 
Bowdoin,  Gov.,  317,  321,  326,  328,  329. 
Bowles,  Samuel,  379,  431,  475. 

Samuel,    2d,    494,    500,    518, 

542-544. 
Samuel  [3d],  544,  596. 
Boylston,  Edward,  345. 
Bradstreet,  Simon,  118. 
Branch,  William,  96,  98,  127,  187. 
Breck,  George,  331. 
"      Robert,  331. 
"      Rev.  Robert,  228-2587  316. 
Breck  controversy,  The,  228-258. 
Brewer,  Charles,  222. 

Dr.  Charles,  347. 
"        Chauncey,  97. 

Dr.  Chauncey,  289,  303,  345, 

363,  408. 
Rev.    Daniel,    193,   211,   212- 
215,  227,  345. 
"       Eunice      [married     Rev.     R. 

Breck],  245,  251. 
'        Henry,  379. 
Isaac,  222. 

Dea.  Nathaniel,  222,  275,  277, 
287,  345. 
Bridges,  Robert,  118. 
Bridges  across  the  Connecticut 


Bridgman,  Good,  69. 

James,  70,  71,  78,  96, 
Briggs,  A.  D.,  524. 
Brimfield  (Mass.),  197. 
Brook,  William,  187. 
Brookfield  [Quabaug],  127,  156, 

189,  190,  191,  197. 
Brooks,  William,  127. 


369- 


110. 


157 


INDEX. 


631 


Brown,  John  and  Samuel,  sent  back  to 
England,  xii. 
"       John,  502,  504-506,  509,  513, 
514. 
Bryan,  Clark  W.,  540,  541. 
Buckmgham,  Rev.  S.  G.,  477. 
Bull,  Key.  Mr.,  237,  239,  250. 
Burr,  John,  10,  11,  45,  65. 
Burt,  Lieut.  David,  281. 

"     Gideon,  281,  293,  308,  326. 

"     Henry,  66,  68-70,  73,  78,  80,  96- 

98,  110,  126,  128. 
"     Dea.  Henry,  263. 
"     Dea.  Henry,  wife  and  daughter, 

222. 
"     Henry  M.,  540. 
"     James,  222. 
"      Mrs.  James,  222. 
"     James,  Jr.,  and  Avife,  222. 
"     John,  45. 
"     John,  Jr.,  238,  262. 
"      John,  Jr.,  and  wife,  222. 
"     J.  M.,  340. 

"     Jonathan,    102,    110,     127,    132, 
134.  162,   172.   187,  195,    202. 
"     Dea.  Jonathan,  208. 
"     Joseph's  daughter,  222. 
"     Nathaniel,  127,  187,  209. 
"     Lieut.  Nathaniel,  261. 
Butterfield,  Samuel,  11. 
Byers,  James,  346,  348. 

Cable,  John,  4,  11,  45,  50,  52,  65,  569. 

Cabot  Manufacturing  Co.,  421,  471. 

Cadwell,  D.,  248,  251. 

Calhoun,  Rev.  Simeon  H.,  445. 

William  B.,  380,  388,  393, 
394,  398,  413,  425,  430, 
443,  458,  461,  463,  464, 
494,    495. 

Canals,  351,  352,  389,  410,  411,  422. 

"  Canoe"  trees,  65. 

Canonchet,  173. 


CareAv,  Joseph,  395. 

Carriages,  List  of  owners  in  1791,  334. 

Caste  in  the  settlement,  81. 

Celebrations. 

Fourth  of  July,  348,  388,  397,  437. 
Fourth  of  March,  397,  398.  Com- 
pletion of  the  Western  railroad,  419. 
Washington's  birthday,  423,  534,  540. 
Bi-centennial,  433,  563.  Harrison 
demonstration,  441.  Appointment  of 
civil  supt.  at  U.  S.  Armory,  491. 
Return  of  regiments  from  civil  war, 
534.  Chapin  gathering,  578.  Two 
hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary, 
546-628. 
Cemetery,  New,  478. 

Catholic,  482.  _ 

ChafPee,  C.  C,  501,  504,  509,  ^10(@^ 
Chapin,  Abel,  and  wife,  2z2. 
"       AbijahW.,489. 
Asabel,  261. 
Austin,  Jr.,  487. 
"        Benjamin,  and  wife,  222. 
Chester  W.,  457,  478,519. 
David,  251 ;  M'if e  and  daughter, 

222. 
David,  Jr.,  222. 
Edward,  265,  285,  287,  292. 
Elisha,222. 
Enoch,  281. 
Esther,  222. 
Hannah  (widow),  222. 
Harvey,  396,  455,  456. 
"        Henr/,  110,  127,139.174,  181, 

187. 
"       Henry,  2d,  222,  248,  251. 
Mrs.  Isaac,  222. 
Israel,  327. 

Japhet,  176,187  ;  and  wife,  222. 
John,  248,  251. 
"        John,  Jr.,  251. 

Jonathan,  232  ;  Avif  e  and  daugh- 
ter, 222. 


632 


INDEX. 


Chapin,  Jonathan,  Jr.,  222. 

"       Jonathan,  and  wife  [of  Kings- 
ton], 222. 
Judah,  363. 
"        Phineas  [Ensign],  275. 
Phineas,  363. 

Samuel,  64,  69-71,  73,  77,  78, 
80,  95,  97,98,  100,  111,  124, 
126-128,  130,  133,  162,  175, 
201,  203. 
Samuel,  Jr.,  261. 
' '       Thomas,  wife  and  three  daugh- 
ters, 222. 
Chapin  celebration,  578. 
Chapman,   Eeuben  A.,   399,  4U,  467, 

489,  506,  514,  519,  522. 
Chauncy,  Charles,  345. 

Isaac,  228,  232,  237. 
Moses,  363. 
"  Nathaniel,  345. 

Chicopee   [Mass.],  16,    176,  210,  259, 

393,421,  437,  474,  475,  593. 
Chicopee  bridge,  294. 
Church,  Dr.  Benjamin,  Jr.,  284. 
"        Jonathan,  262. 
Moses,  293,  334. 
Nathaniel  [Dea.],  263. 
Church  affairs. 

First  parish.  First  minister, 
George  Moxon,  16.  Parsonage  built, 
39.  First  church  built,  75.  Second, 
178.  Third,  259.  Fourth,  378. 
Church  expenses,  112.  Moxon  re- 
turns to  England,  122.  Eev.  Mr. 
Horsford,  125.  Rev.  Mr.  Thomson, 
128.  Pulpit  supplied  by  laymen,  128. 
Rev.  Thomas  Hooker,  129.  Rev. 
Pelatiah  Glover,  129,  181.  Assign- 
ment of  seats  in  meeting-house,  130- 
132,  215,  259.  Pulpit  vacant,  193. 
Rev.  Daniel  Brewer,  193.  Parish 
meetings,  208,  260.  Extract  from 
parish  records,  213.     Town  divided 


Church  affairs,  continued. 

into  precincts,  210.     Trouble  about 
Mr.  Brewer's  salary,  212.     Condition 
of  parish,  215.     List  of  church  mem- 
bers, 222.     Half-way  covenant,  216, 
255,  256.     Breck  controversy,  228- 
252.     Changes  in  church  rules,  255- 
258.     Trouble  with  Jedidiah  Bliss, 
267.     Death  of  Rev.  R.  Breck,  331. 
Rev.  B.  Howard,  342.     Rev.  Samuel 
Osgood,   375.     Troubles    leading  to 
division,  376.     Dr.   Osgood   retires, 
490.     Rev.    H.    M.    Parsons,    490. 
Celebration    of    250th  anniversary, 
549-551.     West  Springfield  Church, 
197,208.    Longmeadow,  210.    Chico- 
pee,   259,    474.       Wilbraham,    268. 
Indian   Orchard,    482,   544.      Olivet 
Church,    422.     South   Church,   477. 
North  Church,  482.    Baptist  Church, 
367,  375-376,  445,  477,  525.      Epis- 
copal,   376,    445.       Methodist,    376, 
477.       Swedenborgian,    489.      Uni- 
tarian, 377,  378.      Universalist.  482. 

Church-membership  as  a  qualification 
for  freemanship,  224-227. 

City  Hall  dedicated,  493. 

City  Library  Association,  494. 

Clap,  Rev.  Thomas,  230-233,  242.  244- 
249,  253. 

Clarke,  John,  96,  98,  99,  127,  142,  187. 
"       William,  110. 

Clay,  Henry,  visit  to  Springfield,  424. 

Coleraine  [Mass.],  328. 

College  presidents,  Springfield's,  346. 

Colonization  Society,  386,  398. 

Colton,  Aaron,  264,  269,  286. 
"        Major  Andrew,  281. 

Charles,  342. 
"        Ephraim,  176.  187,  211. 

George,  96,  125-127,  132,  135. 
"        George  [of  LongmeadoAv],  154, 
175,  176,  181,  187. 


INDEX. 


633 


Colton,  George,  395,  409. 
Goody,  139. 
"        Isaac,  187. 
Israel,  143. 
Mary,  139. 
Sarah,  139. 
Capt.  Simon,  275. 
'•        Thomas,    187,   191,    193,    209, 
262. 
"  Commons  "  ontward  and  mward,  266, 

268. 
Commucke,  11,  570. 
Concord,  317. 

COXXECTICUT    COLONY. 

Controversy  witli  William  Pynchon, 
20-38.     Jurisdiction   over  Agawam, 
39,  569.     Claim  to  Woronoco  [West- 
field],   60,    569.      Imposes   a   riA^er 
tariff,   83.      Purchases   the   fort   at 
Saybrook,  83.    Removes  duties  from 
Massachusetts  goods,  93.     Sells  land 
in   Massachusetts,    195.      Boundary 
controversy  with  Mass.,  196. 
'■  Connecticut  path,"  3. 
Connecticut  River  Association,  388. 
Connecticut  River  Valley   Steamboat 

Co.,  411,  420. 
Conway  [Mass.],  328. 
Cooley,  Ensign   Benjamin,  78,   79,  96, 
97,  102,  110,  125-127,  130, 
132,  154,  172. 
Benjamin,  209. 
"       Joseph,  211. 
0.,  248,  251. 
"       Sarah,  139. 
Coolidge,  J.,  334,  363. 
Cooper,  Thomas,    64,   QS,   70,   73,    75 
77,    78,    80,  94,   95,    97-99 
108,  111,  125-127,  130,  133 
152,  157,  162,  168,  187,  194 
201. 
Thomas    [West    Springfield] 

197. 


Cooper,  Timothy,  265. 
William,  243. 
Copley,  Noah,  315. 

CORX. 

Controversy  about   trade  in,  Avith 
Indians,  22-38.     Scarcity  of,  29. 
County  tax  paid  in,  183. 
Court-houses,  211,  378. 
County  courts,  132-134,  183-186. 
Court  Square,  378. 
Crooks,  James  W.,  424,  427. 
CroAvfoote,  John,  261. 

Mrs.  John,  222. 
John,  Jr.,  222. 
Joseph,  127. 
Thomas,  222. 
Crown  Point,  Expedition  to,  261. 
I    Cuttonas,  11,  152. 
!    Cypress  st. ,  572. 


I    Daniels,  Dr.  Ira,  379. 
Davis,  Philip,  202. 

"       Widow,  281. 
Dawes,  Hon.  H.  L.,  610. 
Day,  Benjamin,  264-266,  269. 
•'     John,  262. 
"     Luke,  315.  322,  326. 
"     Samuel,  211. 
"     Thomas,  187. 
Deeble,  John,  67,  69,  70,  71,  78. 

AVidow,  96. 
Deeds   from   Indians,  12-14,  149.   151, 

154,  570. 
Deerfield  [Mass.],  158,  159,  191,  207 

261,  308. 
Denton,  Daniel,  187. 
Devotion,  Ebenezer,  228,  237. 
Dickens,  Charles,  470. 
Dickinson,  Dr.  John,  265. 
Dickman,  Thomas,  379. 
Distillery,  340. 
'   Dober,  John,  70,  71,  77,  78. 
I   Doctors,  Prominent,  265. 


634 


INDEX. 


Dorchester,    Anthony,    106,    110,   127, 
134,   135,  154,  173,  187, 
202,  203. 
"  Mrs.  Benjamin,  222. 

"  Rev.  Daniel,  376. 

"  James,  187. 

John,  175,  180,  187,  194. 
"  Eeuben,  261. 

Dover,  John,  69. 
"  Dred  Scott"  case,  510,  511. 
Dress. 

Of  Springfield  pioneers,  8.    Regu- 
lated by  law,  138.    At  the  revolution- 
ary period,  333. 
Dumbleton,   John,    110,   126,  134,  175, 
187. 
Mary,  139. 
Nathaniel,  197. 
Sarah,  139. 
Drunkenness,  142,  185. 
Dudley,  Thomas,  85,  118. 
Dwight,  Edmund,  363,  476. 

George,  433,  482,  497,  521. 

Gen.  H.  C,  609. 

Henry,  338. 

James  S.,  338. 

Jonathan,  279,   294,  337,  377, 

439. 
Jonathan,  Jr.,  338,  345,  395. 
"       Joseph,  347. 

Josiah,  263,  264,  336. 
Thomas  [Col.],  309,  312,  347, 

363,  368. 
Timothy,  247. 
William,  458. 
D wight  store,  The,  358-359. 
Dwight  Manufacturing  Co.,  471. 
Dyer,  Capt.  A.  B.  523. 
"      E.  Porter,  563. 

Earl  (murderer),  266. 

Editors'  and  Printers'  Association,  494. 

Edwards,  Alexander,  69,  70.  78,  96,  100. 


Edwards,  Jonathan,  228,  232,  237-239, 
252. 
Gen.  Oliver,  528,  532. 
Sarah,  105. 
Eliot,  John,  60,  161. 

"      Moses,  murder  trial,  427. 
Elm  St.,  572. 
Elwell,  William  S.,  428. 
Ely,  Abner,  251. 
"     Benjamin,  269,  272. 
"     Joseph,  211. 
"     Justin,  272,  340. 
"     Martin,  281. 
"     Nathaniel,  184. 
"     Nathaniel  [Deacon],  269. 
"     Nathaniel,  Jr.,  266,  308. 
'*     Samuel,  125,  187,  203. 
"     Mrs.  Samuel,  141. 
"     Rev.  Samuel,  302. 
"     William,  368. 
Embargo  troubles,  363. 
Emery,  Robert,  345,  395. 
Endicott,  John,  85,  118. 
Enfield  [Conn.],  194-196. 
Episcopal  Church,  376. 
Everett,  Edward,  415,  419,  432,  434. 

Richard,  25,  45,  49. 
Exell,  Richard,  96,  110. 
Exile,  Lidia,  139. 

Family  government,  142. 
Fencing  lots  ordered,  79. 

Sundry  persons  presented  for  neg- 
lecting, 134. 
Ferre  [or  Ferry],  Charles,  187. 

Charles  [2d],  347. 
Gersham,  222. 
John,  222. 
"  Capt.    Joseph,    278, 

315. 
Samuel,  187,  202. 
"  and  wife,  222. 

Thaddeus,  454. 


INDEX. 


635 


Ferre  \_or  Ferry],  Thomas,  222. 
Ferry,  authorized  beloAr  the  Agawam, 

135  ;   Suffleld  ferry,  184. 
Field,  Moses,  275,  292. 
Fifteen-gallon  laAv,  439. 
Filer,  George,  137. 
Fire  department,  407,  446. 

Destructive  fires,  471,  539. 
Fishing  privileges  granted,  177,  188. 
Folsom,  A.  T.,  523. 
Foot,  Homer,  508,  509,  519. 
"     Mrs.  Thomas,  222. 

Fort  Massachusetts,  261. 

Forward,  Eev.  Justus,  328. 

Foster,  Edward,  127,  187. 

Fowler,  Samuel,  362. 

Freemanship,  Conditions  of,  224. 

Free-Masonry,  370,  438. 

Fremont  campaign,  502-509. 

French  and  Indian  V^ars,  189-193,  207, 
261. 

Freshwater  brook.  195. 

Frost,  Isaac,  197. 

"       Joshua,  363,  396,  444. 

Funerals,  Services  at,  332. 


Gaines,  Samuel,  141. 

General  Coiirt,  181,  187,  188,  194,  208, 

251,  274,  292,  318,  351,  571. 
Gerry,  Gov.  Elbridge,  361. 
Gilbert,  Jonathan,  202. 
Gilburt,  Sarah,  139. 
Gill,  Moses,  284. 
Gleson,  Isaac,  144. 
Glover,  John,  118. 

"       Eev.    Pelatiah,   129,   135,    136, 

155,  162,   180,  187,   188,  193, 

201. 
Goffe,  WiUiam  [The  regicide] ,  139.  158. 
Granby  (Conn.),  197. 
Granby  (Mass.),  327. 
Grand  Army  organizations,  535. 


Graves,  Aaron,  325. 

Gray,  Henry,  482. 

Great  Barrington  [Mass.],  317. 

Greek  revolution,  386. 

Greenwich  (Mass.),  267. 

Gregory,  Goody,  65. 

"    ^     Henry,  47,  49.  51,  m,  68. 
Mark,  185. 
Griffin,  Solomon  B.,  544. 
Griffith,  Goody,  124. 

Hacklinton,  Francis,  141,  146. 
Hadley  (Mass.),  132,  157, 158.  159, 171, 

173,  174. 
Haile,  William  H.,539,  594. 
Hale,  John,  272,  275,  277,  285,  303. 

"      Jonathan,  275,  277,  279,  285,  292. 
"  Half-way  Covenant."  The,  216,  255. 
Hamilton,  Alexander,  304,  305. 
Hampden  Covmty,  360. 
Hampden  County  Agricultural  Society, 

482. 
Hampden  Park,  495. 
Hampshire  County,  132. 
Hancock,  Abner,  261. 

Gov.  John,  348. 
"         Mrs.  John  [of  Springfield], 
222. 
Hardwick  (Mass.),  267. 
Harmon,  John,  78,  96,  98,  110,  187. 

Mrs.  John,  222. 
Harris,    Dea.    Daniel.    266,    269,    275, 
287. 
"       Daniel  L.,  509,  516.  520. 
"       R.,  248,  251. 
Harrison,  William  H.,  441. 
^^  Harrison  campaign,"  The,  441. 
Hartford  (Conn.),  33,  64,  83,  171,  569. 
"  Hartford  Convention,"  The,  364. 
Hatch,  Solomon,  393,  395,  396,  475. 
Hatfield   (Mass.),    157.    158,  171,   172, 

173,  174.  308,  317. 
Hawley,  Joseph,  264. 


^36 


INDEX. 


Havnes,  Gov.  John,  3(3,  41. 
Rev.  John,  193. 
Widow,  96. 
Hibbins,  William,  118. 
Hillyard,  Rev.  Timothy,  342. 
Hitchcock,  Aaron,  222. 
Ann,  222. 
"  Ebenezer,  262,  264. 

"  Mrs.  Ebenezer.  222. 

"  John,    172,    187;   and  Avife, 

222. 
"  Deacon  John,  346. 

Josiah,  294. 
Luke,   181,    185,    193,    211, 

212  ;  and  wife,  222. 
Luke,    Jr.,   230,    232.    261, 

262;  and  wife,  222. 
Reuben,  261. 
"  Widow,  222. 

Hobbs,  Humphrey,  261. 
Holland,  Josiah  G.,493. 
Holyoke  (Mass.),  485,  486,  601. 
Holyoke,  Edward,  71.- 

Elizur,    64,    QQ,    QS,    69-71, 
77,  78,  80,  95,  97,  98,  120, 
124,  127.  128. 133, 155, 172, 
577. 
Mrs.  Elizur  [2d].  140. 
John,  176,  187,  194. 
Mrs.  Mary,  71,  122.  144. 
"         Capt.  Samuel.   143,   173,  174, 

435. 
"         Corporal,  139. 
Hooker,  John,  362,  363,  395,  408. 
Rev.  Samuel,  32. 
Rev.  Thomas,  41. 
"        Rev.  —  [son  of  Thomas],  129. 
Hopkins,  Dep.  Gov.,  ^o. 

"         Samuel,  228,  232,  238,    239, 
250. 
Horsford,  Rev.  Mr.,  125,  128. 
Horton,  Benjamin,  Jr.,  and  Avife,  222. 
Thomas,  45,  52,  251. 


Horton,  daughter  of  Thomas,  222. 

"        WidoAv,  68. 
Housatonic  toAA-nships,  211. 
House  of  Correction,  126,  176. 
Houston,  John  L.,  561. 
HoAvard,  Rev.  Bezaleel,  342,  375,  376. 
Charles,  448,  456. 
"        John,  475, 
Hubbard,  Rev.  Daniel,  229. 

Samuel,  51,  53,  65,  68-71,  78. 
Huit,  Rev.  Ephraim,  194. 
Hunt,  Thomas,  340. 
Hunter,  Daughter,  139. 

GoodAvife,  125,  139. 
John,  325. 
Hutchins,  James  R.,   345. 

Indian  Leap  [Indian  Orchard],  165. 

Indians. 

Deeds  of,  12,  14,  149,  151,  154, 
570.  Pequot  war,  16,  22.  Contro- 
versy about  trade  Avith,  20-38.  In- 
fluence of  WiUiam  Pynchon  Avith,  64. 
Puritan    a'Icav    of,     147.     AgaAvams, 

148,  160,    162.     English    laAvs    for, 

149.  Thefts  of,  150.  King  Philip's 
Avar,  157-174,579-582.  French  and 
Indian  Avars,   189-193,  207,  261. 

Ingersoll,  Major  EdAA^ard,  384,  448. 

John,  362. 

Mrs.  [AvidoAv],  223. 
Ingraham,  Joseph,  463,  480. 
Inoculation,  265,  293,  367. 
Ives,  Rev.  Dwight,  445. 

Jails,  347. 

Johns,  Katherine,  96. 
Johnson,  John,  315. 
Jones,  Cornelius,  265. 

David,  and  Avife,  223. 
"        Ebenezer,  197. 

Griffith,  96,  102,  105,  127. 

Hephzibod,  139. 


INDEX. 


637 


Jones,  Mercy,  139. 

Pelatiah,  2G1. 
Jury  trial,  51. 

Keep.  John,  172,  173. 

Kellogg  [daughter  of  Widow],  223. 

Kent,  Capt.  Elilm,  281. 

Killed  and  wounded  in  the  Kebellion, 

535. 
King  [Deputy  Sheriff],  325. 

"     John  L.,  522. 
Kinsley,  E.  W.,  611. 
Ivirtland,  Daniel,  230,  231. 
Knowlton,  Benjamin,  and  wife,  223. 
••  Benjamin,  Jr.,  261. 

M.  P..  554-563,  583. 
Kossuth,  L..  487,  488. 


Labden,  Good  wife,  139. 
Lamb,  Huldah,  223. 

"      John,  110,  142,  187. 
Laxds. 

First    purchase    of,     12.     Assign- 
ment of,  10,  11,  45,  48,  67-69,  80, 
98,     177,    188.     Ownership   in   com- 
mon,   19.    80,    266.     Regulations   in 
reference  to  fencing.  78,  79. 
Langton,  George,  102,  106. 
Larned,  Ellen  D.,  254. 
Lathrop,  E.  H..  591. 

Rev.  Joseph.  370. 
Samuel,  398. 
Thomas,  157-159. 
Lawrence,  John.  191. 
Lawyers,  Prominent.  264,  362.  399. 

Contemj)t  for,  316. 
Lee,  Gen.  Henry,  284. 
'■     Rev.  Henry  AY.,  445. 
"     Horace  C,  526,  527,  530-532. 
■•     Roswell,  357,  424,  444. 
■'■•     Walter.  135. 
Leman.  Joseph,  187. 


Leonard,  Benjamin,  197,  269. 
Hannah,  139. 
John,  45,  47,  51,   65,  69,   70, 

78,  96,  110,  127,  135. 
Deacon  John,  266,  269. 
'•  Joseph.  197. 

"  Letoula."  2. 
Leveret,  Sir  John,  156. 
Leverett  (Mass.),  327. 
Lewis,  Mrs.  Mary,  81.     See  also    Par- 
sons, Mrs.  Hugh. 
Licenses    granted   to    sell    liquor.  184, 

185. 
Lincoln,  Abraham,  518,  519. 

Gen.  Benjamin,  306,  320,  321. 
Lind,  Jenny,  478. 
Littlejohn,  Rev.  A.  N.,  482. 
Lombard,  Daniel,   341,  346,  363,  397 
496. 
"         Ebenezer,  and  daughter,  223. 

John,  96,  102,  110. 
"         Justin.  475. 
Long  Hill  fort,  160,  162. 
Longmeadow  (Mass.),  79,  80,  110,  173, 

209,  268. 
Lottery,  for  building  bridge,  294,  371, 
Building  canals,  352. 
Harvard  College,  371. 
Louisburg,  Loss  of  life  at,  261. 
LudloAv  [Mass.],  268,  274. 
Ludlow,  Roger,  23,  41. 
Lyman,  Phineas,  264. 
Robert.  139. 
"        Samuel.  312,  345. 


Madison,  William,  182. 
Manning,  Samuel,  233. 
Maple  street  laid  out.  126. 
Marble,  Joel,  341,  346. 

Marcus.  348. 
Marshfield.  Mrs.,  103,  104. 
"  Josiah,  197. 


638 


INDEX. 


Marshfield,  Samuel,  104,  110,  130,  132, 
151,   176,  181,   187,  195, 
202. 
"  Negro  servant,  Dinah,  223. 

Mason,   Capt.  John,   controversy  with 
William  Pynchon,  20-38,  54-58,  85. 
Massachusetts  Bay,  Charter  of,  xi. 
Massachusetts  Colony. 

Boundary  line,  41.    Protest  against 
claims  of  Conn,  colony,  60.    Refuses 
to  pay  river  tariff  to  Conn.,  84.    Im- 
poses retaliatory   duties,   92.      Sus- 
pends  these   duties,   93.     Boundary 
controversy  with  Conn.,  196. 
Massachusetts  Medical  Society,  345. 
Massasoit,  156. 
Matanchan,  11,  570. 
Mather,  Cotton,  217. 

Increase,  193,  217. 
Matthews,  John,  94,  96,  102,  136,  137, 
187,  203. 
wife  of,  164. 
Meacham,  Isaac,  Jr.,  195,  196. 
Mears,  Joseph,  261. 
Merriam,  Rev.  James  F.,  544. 
Merrick,  Mrs.  Capt.  223. 
Hannah,  140. 
"        James,  211. 

John,  211. 
"        Meriam,  139. 

Thomas,    45,    52,    65,   68-71, 
78,  80,  96,  100,   110,  127, 
135,  187,  202. 
Metcalf,  Edwin  D.,  539,  546,  555. 
Military  companies,  401-403,  446,  465, 

481,488,495. 
Mill  river.  Lands  apportioned  at,  110. 


Mil 


er,  Ebenezer,  140. 
Hannah,  140. 
John,  211. 
Mrs.  John,  223. 
John,  Jr.  223. 
Obadiah,  187. 


Miller,  Thomas,  106,  134,  162,  168. 
Mills,  John,   380-382,   393,   394,    453, 

456,  466,  482. 
Mitchell,  Matthew,  11. 
Mohegans,  The,  156. 
Monroe,  Pres.  James,  372. 
Montague,  William  E.,  475. 
Morals,    Offences      against,     139-141, 
186. 
DecUne  in,  217-228. 
Demoralization  after  Revolution, 
352. 
Morgan,  Albert,  398. 

David,  140,  162,  165,  194. 
Mrs.  David,  139. 
Ebenezer,  223. 
Hannah,  139. 
"        Isaac,  195.  - 

John,  78. 
"        Capt.  John,  78. 
"        Jonathan,  140. 
Lydia,  141. 

Miles,  95-98,   107,  110,    126, 
127,  132,  140,  183,  187,  202. 
Morris,  Henry,  457,  458,  500,  563-583. 
"      Oliver  B.,  346,  362,  368,  382- 
384,  408,  424,  427,  428,  430- 
432,  434,  441,   442,  474,  493, 
499,  519. 
Morton,  Marcus,  440. 
Mosely,  Samuel,  157-159,  172. 
Moxojf,  Rev.  George. 

Arrives  at  Agawam,  16.  Present 
at  the  Mason-Pynchon  interview.  26, 
29.  House  built  for  him,  43.  Brings 
suit  against  Woodcock,  52.  Land 
allotted  to,  68,  70,  71,  110.  Suc- 
cessful in  his  ministry,  74.  Charac- 
teristics of  his  preaching,  76.  Tax, 
77,  95.  His  daughters  supposed  to  be 
bewitched,  104.  His  real  estate 
purchased  by  the  town,  111.  His 
salary.  111.    Return  to  England,  122. 


0 


INDEX. 


639 


Moxon,  Martha,  10-t. 

Parsons,  David,  344. 

IMunii.  Benjamin,  110,  127. 

David,  Jr..  344. 

••      John,  261.  341. 

"        Ebenezer,  211. 

Xatlianic'l.  and    two 

laughters, 

Eli,  322-326. 

223. 

Rev.  Henry  M.,  490. 

••      Natbauiel,  Jr.,  223. 

Hugh,  82,  96,  102-109. 

Mygate.  George,  2G1. 

Mrs.  Hugh,  103-109. 
Joseph,  96,  202.  208.  210. 

Karragansetts,  The,  156. 

Zenas,  341,  342. 

National  horse  exhibition,  49 

5. 

Peabody,  Rev.  W.  B.  0.,  378,  476. 

Nebraska  bill,  500. 

Pease,  John,  195. 

New   England  colonies,  con 

federation 

Pecowsic,  110. 

of,  41. 

Pedlers,  444. 

Newspapers,    343-345,    379, 

425, 

444, 

Pelham  (Mass.),  195. 

465,  474,  476,  540. 

Pendleton,  Jesse,  395. 

Nipmucks,  The,  156,  161. 

Pequot  Avar,  16,  22. 

Nonotucks.  The,  155,  156. 

Perkins  mills,  471. 

Northampton   (Mass.).   124. 

132, 

157, 

Peterson,  John,  326. 

158.  171,   173.   188,  277 

302, 

316, 

Petty,  John,  176,  187. 

387. 

Phelps,  Ansel,  Jr.,  483,  492,  494,  496. 

Northfield  [Squakheag],  127 

,  158 

159, 

"       Edward  B.,  616. 

189. 

"       Edward  H.,  540,  542,  551. 

Norton,  John,  114. 

Phelps  Publishing  Co.,  542 

Nowell,  Increase,  118. 

Phelps,  Willis,  455. 

Philip  (King),  155-174,  579-582. 

Oldham,  John,  1,  16. 

Phillips,  Henry  M.,  539. 

Osborne,  Chester,  160. 

Pierce,  Jonathan,  223. 

Osburne,  James,  95. 

Pillsbury,  A.  E.,  594. 

Osgood,  Rev.   Samuel,  375, 

442, 

490, 

Plymouth  Colony,  156. 

606. 

Pocomtucks,  The,  148. 

'•  Outward  commons,"  188. 

Pokanokets,  The,  155,  156. 
Pomeroy,  E.  E.,  247. 

Packard,  Frederick  A.,  394. 

"    "    AYilliamM.,540. 

Paper  mills,  347,  389,  421. 

"  Pompey,"  333. 

Parish  meetings,  208,  211. 

Poor-house,  367,  394. 

Parker,  James,  418. 

Porter,  Gen.  ,  302. 

Parsons,  Aaron,  223. 

Porter,  Rev.  Noah,  477. 

Abigail,  223. 

Post-riders,  344. 

Benjamin,  175,  176 

,  195. 

PoAvers,  Lewis  J.,  359. 

"        Benjamin,  Jr.,  187 

Precinct  meetings,  260. 

Daniel,  255. 

Prescott,  Benjamin,  357. 

Mrs.  Daniel,  223. 

Prichard,  Nathan,  110,  176,  187. 

Mrs.  Daniel,  Jr.,  223. 

Roger,  69,  78,  96,  98,  110. 

640 


INDEX. 


Pringrydays,  Edmund,  165. 
Pynchon,  Ann,  71. 

Dr.   Charles,  265.   267,  269, 

275,  277,  279,  335,  Uo. 
EdM-ard    [died,  1777],    262, 
264,266.267,269,281,286, 
294,  336. 
Edward    [died,   1830],    362, 
363,  393,  409. 


Capt.  George,  2\ 
336. 


279. 


Col.    John,  82,  98,   99,    111, 
123, 124,  125, 126, 127, 128, 
132, 144-146, 152, 154,157- 
174,  180,  187, 189-193, 194, 
195, 198-206,  576.  577,  580- 
583,  598-600. 
John,  Jr.,  204,  238,  263. 
John  [died,  1826],  335. 
Joseph,  204.  262.  279. 
Mary    [Mrs.    Holyoke],    71. 

122. 
Thomas  R.,  279.  597. 
Walter,  336. 
Pynchok,  William. 

Becomes  an  incorporator  in  the 
Mass.  Bay  Co.,  x.,  566.  Character- 
istics of,  xi.,  566,  575.  Sails  for 
this  country,  xii.,  566.  Settles  at 
Dorchester,  xiii.  Removes  to  Rox- 
bury,  xiii.,  568.  Made  treasurer  of 
the  Colony,  xiii.  Licensed  to  trade 
with  the  Indians,  xiii.  Visits  the 
Conn,  valley  in  1635,  2,  569.  Re- 
moves his  family,  6.  Allotted  land, 
10,  11,  69,  70.  Purchases  land  of 
Indians,  12.  Official  position,  14. 
Letters  to  Gov.  Winthrop,  14,  35, 
64,  74,  84.  Conducts  religious  ser- 
vices, 15.  Controversy  with  the  Con- 
necticut Colony,  20-38.  Subscription 
to  minister's  house,  45.  Made  magis- 
trate, 47.     Brings  suit  against  Wm. 


Pi'xcHOX,  William,  continued. 

Merrick,  52.     Tried  by  the  Windsor 

Church,  54-59.     Influence  over  the 

Indians,  64.     Tax,  77,  95.     Refuses 

to   pay   river  tariff  to  Connecticut, 

84,  87.    Favors  liberty  of  conscience, 

93.     Administers  freeman's  oath,  98. 

Holds  courts,  98.    His  heretical  book, 

113-120,   573,   574.     His   character, 

120.     His    return   to    England,    122. 

His   death,   144. 

Pynchon,  Col.  William,  229,  234,  262, 

263. 

"         Mrs.      Col.       William      and 

daughter,  223. 

William  [son  of  Col.  John], 

335. 
AVilliam,   Jr.     [died,    1808], 
277.285-287,292,303,309, 
312. 
William  [of  Salem],  279. 
Family,  Origin  of,  x.,  b^Q. 
Coat-of-arms,  xi. 
Memorial  of,  122. 
Fort,  146.  396. 


Quabaug    [Brookfield]. 

field. 
Quakers,  137. 


See    Brook- 


Railroads. 

Boston  &  Worcester,  412.  West- 
ern, 413,  415-420,  469,  478.  Albany 
&  West  Stockbridge,  468.  Hartford 
&  Springfield,  468.  Boston  &  Al- 
bany, 487.  Springfield  &  Farmingtou 
Valley,  488. 

Rand,  AVilliam,  228,  237. 

Rawson,  Edward,  170. 

Reader,  John,  11. 

Reeve,  Thomas,  95. 

Reward  offered  for  the  destruction  of     j\^ 
pests,  262.  j^ 


INDEX. 


641 


Reynolds,  Peter,  228,  232,  237.  250. 
Rice,  Caleb,  414,  483. 

"     William,  395,  396,  409.  512. 

"     Rev.  AVilliam,  494. 
RicharcLs,  John.  183. 
Riley.  John,  187. 
Ripley,  Col.  J.  W.,  449,  453. 
Robb,  John,  449. 
Robinson,  George  D.,  557.  593. 
Rogers,  Henry,  170. 

"       Mrs.  Henry,  139. 
James,  202. 
Root.  Ezekiel,  325. 

••      Joseph,  270. 
Rowe  [Mass.].  321. 
Rowland.  Thomas,  95.  127.  180. 
Roxbury    Church,     Appeal    of    Wm. 
Pynchon,  60. 

ROXBUKY   SETTLEKS. 

Causes  of  their  removal  to  the 
Conn,  valley,  1,  569.  Probable 
route,  2,  10,  572.     Covenant,  10. 

Rumreil.  [Post-rider],  344. 

Russell,  James  E..  512. 

Sabbath-breaking,  185. 
Sanborn,  Simon,  394-5. 
Sanderson,  Harvey,  8,  334. 

Jeduthan,  283,  334. 
William,  223. 
Sargeant,  Thomas,  341. 
Sausamon,  156. 
Sawmills,  67,  189. 

Saybrook  [Conn.],  fort  purchased,  83. 
Schonungonuck  falls,  189. 
Schools.  125,  182,  183,  188,  209.  210, 

260,  266,  349,  359,  395,  397,  422, 

446,  464,  471,  477. 
Scotland  [Conn.],  230. 
Scott,  John,  134,  187. 
Searle,  John.  45.  51. 

"       Widow,  67. 
Sewall.  Samuel.  211. 


Shaw,  [hung],  266. 

Shays,  Daniel.     See  Shays'  rebellion. 
Shays'  rebellion. 

The  debtor  class,  301.  Jail  broken 
open,  302.  County  conventions,  303. 
Views  of  Washington,  Hamilton,  and 
others ,  304 ,  308 .  Interruption  of  the 
courts,  308.  Instructions  to  repre- 
sentatives, 310,  312.  Financial  dis- 
tress. 311.  Convention  at  Hatfield, 
312.  At  Hadley,  315.  Shays',  315. 
Money-lenders,  316.  Courts  inter- 
rupted, 316-319.  Action  of  town 
meeting,  319.  Gen.  Lincoln  at  Wor- 
cester, 321.  Shays  at  Springfield, 
321-326.  Gen.  Lincoln  in  the  Conn, 
valley,  325-329.  ^ 

Sheldon,  Charles,  340. 
S.  S.,  340. 
William,  363. 
Shepard.  Levi,  324. 

Gen.  WiUiam,  317,  322-325. 
Sherman,  John,  209. 
Shipley,  Joseph  L.,  541. 
ShurtlefE,  William  S.,   509,  524,  528, 

534,  584. 
Sidewalks,  368. 
Sikes,  Mrs.  Benjamin,  223. 

"      Increase,  143,  144,  187,  211,  223. 

"      Increase,  Jr.,  223,  251. 

"      Mrs.  Increase,  Jr.,  223. 

"      James,  187. 

"      James    [1774],    275,    277,    279, 

287,  303,  308,  312. 
"      Richard,  68-70,  73,  77,  80,  94, 

95,  97.  124. 
"      Samuel,  Jr.,  223. 
•'      Widow  Thankful,  223. 
"      Victory,  182,  187. 
Sill,  Captain,  169. 
Simmons,  Rev.  George  F. 
Simonds,  Samuel,  118. 
Simsbury  CConn.).  196. 


462. 


642 


IXDEX. 


Skipmuck,  208,  210,  266. 

Slavery,  152,   186,  206,  332,  374,  412. 

See  also  Anti-slavery. 
Small-pox,  265,  293. 
Smith,  Dr.  David  P.,  529. 

'•       Henry,  10,  11,  26, 15,  51,  53,  65, 
68-71,73,  77,  80,  95,  97,  98, 
•    100,  106,  120,  575. 
"       Mrs.  Henry,  HI. 
"       Simon,  223,  238,  251. 
"      Col.  William,  321,  310. 
"      William  L.,  508,  520,  522,  539, 
546,  554. 
Smith  &  Wesson,  497. 
Somers  (Conn.),  196. 
South  Hadley  (Mass.),  351. 
Southfield.     See  Suffield. 
Southwick  (Mass.),  281. 
Spectacle  pond,  189. 
Spencer,  William,  42. 
Spicer,  John,  335. 
Spooner,  Samuel  B.,  520,  524,  527-528, 

539. 
Springfikld. 

Name  Agawam  changed  to  Spring- 
field, 60.  Petition  to  Mass.  General 
Court,  61.  Included  in  list  of  Mass. 
towns,  63.  Regulates  Avages  of  labor, 
50,  66.  Allotment  of  lands,  10,  11, 
45,  48,  67-69,  80,  88,  177,  188.  Regu- 
lations in  reference  to  fencing  lands, 
78,  79.  Various  town  orders,  99-100. 
King  Philip's  war,  157-174,  579-582. 
Town  expenses,  179,  262,  350,  365. 
Parsonage  lot,  180.  Schools,  125, 
182,  183,  188,  209,  210,  260,  266,  349, 
359,  395,  397,  422,  446,  464,  471,  477. 
List  of  inhabitants  in  1679,  187. 
Trouble  with  West  Springfield,  268. 
Revolutionary  war,  275-300.  Shays' 
rebellion,  301-329.  Principal  mer- 
chants, 336,  341,  347;  359,  390.  Em- 
bargo   and  war  of    1812,   363,  364. 


Springfield,  continued. 

Poor-house,  367,  394.  Town  oflficers, 
73,  98,  125,  126,  175,  194,  262,  264, 
266,  269,  275,  286,  348,  349,  363,  369, 
395,  427,  457,  462,  475,  480.  Popu- 
lation, 373,  387,  404,  471,  481.  Fire 
department,  407,  446.  Destructive 
fires,  471,  539.  Lawlessness,  407. 
Bi-centennial  Celebration,  433,  563. 
Business  statistics,  443,  469,  472,  473. 
Stearns  riot,  452.  Thompson  riot, 
462.  Becomes  a  city,  482.  Mayors 
elected,  483,  490-492,  513,  520,  523, 
524,  539.  City  Government,  483,  492, 
494,524.  Labor  riots,  486,  487.  City 
appropriations,  492.  City  Hall,  493. 
Financial  troubles,  496.  War  of  the 
Rebellion,  522-525.  Tmo  hundred 
and  fiftieth  anniversary,  546-628. 
See  also  Agawam. 
Springfield  Fire  Insurance  Co.,  359. 
"  Lyceum,  396. 

"  Mountains       [Wilbraham], 

268. 
"         Young  Men's  Institute,  477. 
Squakheag  (Northfield),  127,  158. 
Stages,  389,  411. 
Steamboat    navigation,    409-411,    420, 

421,  470. 
Stearns,   Charles,  404,   411,  413,  433- 
435,  451,  489. 
"         George  M.,  591. 
Stebbins,  Benjamin,  187. 
Edward,  187. 
"         Francis,  345. 

Ebenezer,  223,  342. 
.     "         John,  95,  126,  139. 
Jolin,  Jr.,  223. 
John  M.,  539. 
"         Jonathan,  139. 

Joseph,  187,  194. 
Joseph  [2d],  212,  223. 
Joseph  [Capt.J,  342,  343. 


INDEX. 


643 


Stebbins,  Mrs,  Joseph,  223. 

Rowland,  64,  67,  69,  70,  78, 

96. 
Samuel,  209. 

Thomas,  64,  67,  68-71,  77, 
95,     125,    126,    139,    187, 
195. 
Capt.  Thomas.  182,  223,  232, 

26-2,  266,  285,  308. 
Mrs.  Thomas,  139. 
William,  262. 
Zebina,  335,  343,  345. 
Stevenson,  James,  176. 

Mrs.  Jonathan,  223. 
Stewart,  John,  187. 
Stoddard,  John,  244,  247. 

"         Rev.  Solomon,  216. 
Stone,  Rev.  Samuel,  32. 
Stony  brook.     See  Suffield. 
Stowe,  William,  521. 
Strangers  excluded  from  town,  48. 
Suffield  [Conn.],  184.  194-196,  281. 
Swanzey  [Mass.],  156. 
Swine,  Trouble  in  regard  to,  99. 

Tannatt,  Abrjiham  G.,  379. 
Taverns  and  hotels,  125,  315,  341,  342, 
343,345,346,  357,  392,  424,  471, 
473,  474,  478. 
Taxes,  77,  127,  133,  134,  183,  218-221, 

350. 
Taylor,  Elizabeth,  223. 
"       James,  143. 
>'       Jonathan,  107,  111,  187. 
•'       Lewis  H.,  540. 
Temperance,  396,   426,   439,  440,  459, 

480,  489. 
Thomas,  Benjamin,  144. 
"         Ebenezer,  261. 

Rowland,  187,  194. 
Sarah,  223. 
Thompson,  George,  462. 

James  M.,  520,  522. 


Thomson,  Rev.  Mr.,  128. 
Tiffany,  Rev.  Francis,  488. 
Timber  trade,  349. 
"Toddy  road,"  357. 
Tomson,  Thomas,  96. 
Toryism,  278,  279. 
Totaps,  195. 
Town-brook,  50. 

Towsley,  Michael,  wife  and  daughter, 
186. 

Training-day,  51. 

Trask,    Eliphalet,    462,  484,    490-492, 
500,  509,  512,  517. 

Treat,  Maj.  ,  157-159,  168. 

Trees  (Ancient),  404,  405. 

Turner,  Capt.  ,  174. 

Turner,  Preserved,  150. 

Turners  Falls,  174. 

Tyler,  Philos  B.,  489. 

Tything  men,  142. 

Ufford,  Thomas,  11. 

Uncas,  161. 

United  Colony  commissioners,  84,  92, 

93. 
United  States,  295. 
United  States  armory,  355,  356,   374, 

422,  449,  453,  489,  491,  503,  516, 

521,  523. 

Vahan,  Will,  96. 
Vane,  Sir  Henry,  116. 
Vanhorn,  Elizabeth,  223. 

John,  265. 
Vose,  Henry,  481,  482,  509. 

Wages  of  labor,  50,  &Q. 
Wait,  Benjamin,  248,  251. 

"      Joseph,  266. 

"      Richard,  266. 
Wait  monument.  The,  266. 
War  of  1812,  363.  364. 


644 


INDEX. 


War  of  the  Eebelliox. 

Regiments  organized,  >vith  lists  of 
officers,    522-533.       Soldiers'     fair, 
533.      Record  of  soldiers  who  died 
during  the  war,  535-539. 
War  of  the  Revolution. 

Town   action;     Resolutions,    275, 
279.     County  Congress  recommend- 
ed,   277.      Toryism,    278.      Minute- 
men,    281-283.      Enlistments,    284. 
Arsenal  established,  286.     Declara- 
tion of   Independence,  286.      Com- 
mittee of  safety,  287.      Articles  of 
Confederation  proposed,   287.     Sol- 
diers ordered   to  Ticoncleroga,  289. 
Soldiers  drafted,  289.     Six  months' 
men,  289.     List  of  men  in  the  Con- 
tinental  army,  290.      Expenses    for 
soldiers,    291.       Financial   troubles, 
295,  300. 
Ware  (Mass.),  195. 
Warner,  Ebenezer,  2-18,  251,  261. 
Israel,  261. 
Mary,  223. 
"        Samuel,  wife  and   daughter, 
223. 
Sarah,  223. 
Warren,  Wilmot  L.,  544. 
Warriner,  Mrs.  Benjamin,  223. 
David,  223. 
Ebenezer,  248,  251. 
"  Mrs.  Ebenezer,  223. 

"  Elizabeth,  223. 

"  Gideon,  261. 

James,  187.  194,  208,  262. 
"  Jonathan,  261. 

"  Joseph,  and  daughter,  223. 

Martha,  223. 
Mary,  223. 

Solomon,  424,  453,  496,  549. 
William,  64,  C^^,  68-70,  77, 
95,   110.  I 

"         William  and  wife.  223.  I 


Washington,  George,  284,  304,  305, 341, 

Wason  car-works,  479. 

Watts,  Thomas,  157. 

Webb,  Cornelius,  and  wife,  223. 

John,  136. 
Webster,  Ariel.  325. 

Daniel,  458.  459,  512. 
Weld,  E.  W.,  345. 
Welles,  Thomas,  36. 
Wells,  David  A..  602. 
Wequogan,  or  Wrutherna,  165. 
West    Springfield    [Mass.],    197,   208, 

209,  268,  281,  387.  485. 
Westfield  [Woronoco],   16.   171,   173, 

184.  196. 
Wethersfield  [Conn.],  84. 

Whalley,  Col. [The  Regicide] ,  139. 

Wheeler,  Adam,  325.  ^ 

White,  Horace,  281. 

"      Jonathan,  269,  272. 
"      Widow  and  daughter,  223. 
Whitefield,  Rev.  George,  253,  254. 
AVhitelocke.  Bulstrode.  122. 
Whiting,  Charles  G.,  544. 
Whitney,  Gen.  James  S.,  491,  513. 

J.  D.,  338. 
AVhittelsy,  or  Writtelsy,  Rev.  Samuel, 

230. 
Wight,  Emerson.  539. 
Wilbraham  [Mass.].  266,  267. 
Wilcox,  Philo  F.,  475. 
Willard,  Justice,  380,  393,  413. 

Simon,  156,  157. 
Williams,  Eleazer,  371. 

"         Rev.  Eleazor,  2.30. 
Col.  Ephraim,  261. 
Rev.  John,  207. 
Rev.  Stephen.  227,  228,  232, 

237,  238,  250. 
Rev.  William.  228,  232,  237- 
239.  243,  270. 
Williamstown  [Mass.],  328. 
Williston,  Joseph,  234. 


(^ 


INDEX. 


645 


Williston,  Joseph  and  wife,  223. 
Joseph,  Jr.,  223. 
Thomas,  293,  308,  309. 
Wilton,  David,  202. 
Winchester,  Charles  A.,  539. 
Windham  [Conn.],  230. 
Windsor  [Conn.],  83. 
Windsor  church,  54-59. 
AVinthrop,    John,    14-35,    41,    64,   74, 

566-568. 
AYinthrop,  Robert  C  435. 
Witchraft,  101-109,  119,  186. 
Wolcott,  Erastus,  270. 
Wood,  Edmund,  11. 

"      Jonas,  11. 
Woodbridge.  John,  208. 
Woodcock,  John,  45,  51,  65-67,  569. 
Woodford,  Thomas,  11. 
Woodstock  (Conn.).   196. 
Woodstock,  John,  4. 
Worcester  (Mass.),  17. 


Woronoco  [Westfield],  16,  60. 
"  river  [Agawani],  4. 

Woronocos,  The,  148,  155. 
Worthington,    John,    212,    229,     234, 
238,  248,  251. 
John  and  wife,  223. 
Col.    John,    264,    266, 
269,    275,    277,    278, 
287,   293,    294,    309, 
310,  311,  351. 
Wright,  Abell,  187. 

"       Mrs.  Abell,  139. 
Eleazer,  363. 
Mrs.  Henry,  223. 
Mrs.  Henry,  Jr.,  223. 
Col.  I.  H.,  516. 
Samuel,51,68,  69-71,78,  96, 

98,  128,  157,  578. 
WylUs,  Miss ,  82. 

Yale  College,  195,  233. 


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